Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies

by Benjamin M. Studebaker

In this book, Studebaker develops a theory of legitimacy to explain the crisis of liberal democracy in established democracies, like the United Kingdom and the United States. In these countries there is deep dissatisfaction with political procedures, yet no credible alternatives have emerged. Without alternatives, the crisis cannot produce revolution. Instead, Studebaker suggests that the disagreements that ordinarily lead to political violence instead proliferate throughout the state and society. As the distinction between legitimacy and ideology blurs, efforts to generate legitimacy instead generate greater inequality, pluralism, and gridlock. As different factions try to save democracy in radically different ways, diverse advocates of democracy get in each other's way and even begin to appear authoritarian to one another. In Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies, Studebaker depicts a legitimacy crisis rife with state capacity problems, in which citizens tell
each other many conflicting legitimation stories as they search for ways to live with a dissatisfying political system they cannot replace. The result is a legitimation hydra - a state that is burdened by an excess of narratives, that struggles to take any action at all.

Genres: Politics

208 pages, Hardcover

Published November 30, 2024

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A detailed proposal for a conception of political legitimacy that yields a persuasive and sober analysis of 21st century political realities.

[C. Varn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling read about the nature of understanding legitimacy in liberal democracies, particularly after World War 2, and how those methods and narratives are breaking down. Studebaker is very thorough here.