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Cited by 729Political Conflict and GovernancePolitical Theory and DemocracyPolicing Practices and Perceptions

Conceptualizing Legitimacy, Measuring Legitimating Beliefs

Levi, Margaret, Sacks, Audrey, Tyler, Tom·2009·American Behavioral Scientist
DOI 10.1177/0002764209338797
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Abstract

Legitimacy is a concept meant to capture the beliefs that bolster willing obedience. The authors model legitimacy as a sense of obligation or willingness to obey authorities (value-based legitimacy) that then translates into actual compliance with governmental regulations and laws (behavioral legitimacy). The focus is on the factors that elicit this sense of obligation and willingness to comply in a way that supports rational-legal authority. The framework posits that legitimacy has two antecedent conditions: trustworthiness of government and procedural justice. Using African survey data, the authors model the relationship between the existence of a relatively effective, fair, and trustworthy government and beliefs that government deserves deference to its rules. The authors find considerable evidence of a link between the extent of the trustworthiness of government and procedural justice and citizens’ willingness to defer to the police, courts, and tax department in a wide range of African societies.

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69 of 69 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The intervention provides an example of how a relatively simple change to police behavior can have a substantial positive effect on measures of both values-based and behavioral legitimacy.

    “The intervention described here provides an example of how a relatively simple change to police behavior can have a substantial positive effect on measures of both values-based and behavioral legitimacy (35).”

    From A field experiment on community policing and police legitimacy (2019) · cites this paper as [35]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

4 of the 73 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 18

  1. Afrobarometer., 2005, Survey manuel: Round 3 surveys, March 2005-February 2006
  2. Bates, R.H., 2001, Prosperity and violence
  3. Dickerson, M., 2006, Los Angeles Times
  4. Gustafson, J., 2006, Mexico’s creative efforts to reduce tax evasion
  5. Levi, M. ( 1999). Death and taxes: The extractive state and the development of democratic institutions. In I. Shapiro & C. Hacker-Cordon (Eds.), Democracy’s value (pp. 112-131). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  6. Levi, M., 2007, Legitimating beliefs: Concepts and indicators
  7. Mburu, S., 1998, The Nation
  8. Ohnesorge, J.K.M., 2007, The rule of law (University of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper 1051)
  9. Paler, L., 2005, Taxation, power and representation in developing countries: The case of China. Unpublished master’s thesis
  10. Rates ruling pressures Kenya’s Councils., 1998, The East African
  11. Sacks, A., 2008, Effective governance and its consequences for social welfare
  12. Scholz, J.T. ( 1998). Trust, taxes, and compliance. In V. Braithwaite & M. Levi (Eds.), Trust and governance (pp. 135-166). New York: Russell Sage.
  13. Seligson, M.A., 2002, American countries. Journal of Politics, 64, 408
  14. Snijders, T., 1999, Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling
  15. Tyler, T.R. ( 2001a). A psychological perspective on the legitimacy of authorities and institutions. In J. T. Jost & B. Major (Eds.), The psychology of legitimacy: Emerging perspective on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations (pp. 416-436). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
  16. Valente, M., 2005, Inter Press Service
  17. Weber, M., 1968, Economy and society
  18. World Bank., 2009, World Development Indicators

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Authors
Levi, M., Sacks, A., & Tyler, T.
Affiliations
  • University of Washington (US)
  • New York University (US)
Corresponding author
Levi, Margaret
ORCID
Venue
American Behavioral Scientist
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2009-10-12
Volume
53
Issue
3
Pages
354-375
ISSN
  • 0002-7642 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-3381
DOI
10.1177/0002764209338797
OpenAlex
W2094450202
Semantic Scholar
05680fac7340b7c3564044442ab6026033bab450
Cited by
729
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 58 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 56 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 50 · 2020: 79 · 2019: 53 · 2018: 82 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 32 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 32 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 18
FWCI
37.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
American Behavioral Scientist (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Policing Practices and Perceptions
Keywords
legitimacy, legal compliance, rational-legal authority, procedural justice, deference to authority, African societies, public trust in government

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