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

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 69 of the 73 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Conceptualizing Legitimacy, Measuring Legitimating Beliefs

Levi, Margaret, Sacks, Audrey, Tyler, Tom·2009·American Behavioral Scientist

DOI 10.1177/0002764209338797

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

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.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/0002764209338797

Cites

69 of 69 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Constitutions and Commitment: The Evolution of Institutions Governing Public Choice in Seventeenth-Century England
North, D. C., & Weingast, B. R. (1989) · The Journal of Economic History · doi:10.1017/s0022050700009451 · Cited by 5,300
Why People Obey the Law
Tyler, T. R. (2006) · doi:10.1515/9781400828609 · Cited by 5,156
Self-citation
American Economic Review
Moffitt, R. (2009) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.99.2.660 · Cited by 4,888
The Bases of Social Power
French, J. R. P., & Raven, B. H. (1986) · University of Pittsburgh Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/jj.12381759.38 · Cited by 4,544
The role of procedural justice and legitimacy in shaping public support for policing
Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003) · Law & Society Review · doi:10.1111/1540-5893.3703002 · Cited by 2,973
Self-citation
Psychological Perspectives on Legitimacy and Legitimation
Tyler, T. R. (2006) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190038 · Cited by 2,381
Self-citation
Untitled work
(2002) · Cited by 1,687
Self-citation
Of Rule and Revenue
Levi, M. (2019) · University of California Press eBooks · doi:10.1525/9780520909540 · Cited by 1,648
Self-citation
Legitimacy and Authority in International Politics
Hurd, I. (1999) · International Organization · doi:10.1162/002081899550913 · Cited by 1,632
The Impact of Corruption on Regime Legitimacy: A Comparative Study of Four Latin American Countries
Seligson, M. A. (2002) · The Journal of Politics · doi:10.1111/1468-2508.00132 · Cited by 1,052

Show all 73 references

Research works printed but not linked: 18

Afrobarometer., 2005, Survey manuel: Round 3 surveys, March 2005-February 2006
Bates, R.H., 2001, Prosperity and violence
Dickerson, M., 2006, Los Angeles Times
Gustafson, J., 2006, Mexico’s creative efforts to reduce tax evasion
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.
Levi, M., 2007, Legitimating beliefs: Concepts and indicators
Mburu, S., 1998, The Nation
Ohnesorge, J.K.M., 2007, The rule of law (University of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper 1051)
Paler, L., 2005, Taxation, power and representation in developing countries: The case of China. Unpublished master’s thesis
Rates ruling pressures Kenya’s Councils., 1998, The East African
Sacks, A., 2008, Effective governance and its consequences for social welfare
Scholz, J.T. ( 1998). Trust, taxes, and compliance. In V. Braithwaite & M. Levi (Eds.), Trust and governance (pp. 135-166). New York: Russell Sage.
Seligson, M.A., 2002, American countries. Journal of Politics, 64, 408
Snijders, T., 1999, Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling
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.
Valente, M., 2005, Inter Press Service
Weber, M., 1968, Economy and society
World Bank., 2009, World Development Indicators

Sorted by citations

Items 201–300 of 726

Corruption and citizens’ satisfaction with democracy in Europe: what is the empirical linkage?
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2013) · Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft · doi:10.1007/s12286-013-0168-3 · Cited by 24
“Another, albeit related, body of scholarly work argues that perceptions of government effectiveness—a concept which includes the absence of corruption—is crucial in making citizens willing to obey government regulations (Levi and Sachs 2009; Levi et al. 2009; Gilley 2009).”
Background
The Genesis of Rebellion
Pfaff, S. J., & Hechter, M. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108149853 · Cited by 23
Migrants’ Attitudes and the Welfare State
Breidahl, K. N., Hedegaard, T. F., Kongshøj, K., & Larsen, C. A. (2021) · Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · doi:10.4337/9781800376342 · Cited by 21
Right “Man” for the Job? The Influence of Gender on Civil–Military Friction
Schroeder, T., & Powell, J. M. (2017) · Armed Forces & Society · doi:10.1177/0095327x17700390 · Cited by 17
Generative AI for Pro-Democracy Platforms
Tsai, L. L., Pentland, A., Braley, A., Chen, N., Enríquez, J. R., & Reuel, A. (2024) · doi:10.21428/e4baedd9.5aaf489a · Cited by 23
Corruption and citizens’ satisfaction with democracy in Europe: what is the empirical linkage?
Stockemer, D., & Sundström, A. (2013) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-04633-0_7 · Cited by 17
“Another, albeit related, body of scholarly work argues that perceptions of government effectiveness—a concept which includes the absence of corruption—is crucial in making citizens willing to obey government regulations (Levi and Sachs 2009; Levi et al. 2009; Gilley 2009).”
Background
Public Sector Communication and Organizational Legitimacy
Wæraas, A. (2020) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119263203.ch2 · Cited by 18
Endogenous Political Legitimacy: The Tudor Roots of England’s Constitutional GovernancePreprint
Greif, A., & Rubin, J. (2023) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4328669 · Cited by 17
Aid and institutions: Local effects of World Bank aid on perceived institutional quality in Africa
Isaksson, A., & Durevall, D. J. (2022) · The Review of International Organizations · doi:10.1007/s11558-022-09478-w · Cited by 16
Power and Procedure: Gaining Legitimacy in the Workplace
Hegtvedt, K. A., Johnson, C., Gibson, R., Hawks, K., & Hayward, J. L. (2021) · Social Forces · doi:10.1093/sf/soab103 · Cited by 16
Political Legitimacy in Historical Political Economy
Greif, A., & Rubin, J. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197618608.013.15 · Cited by 16
A widening authority–legitimacy gap in EU regulatory governance? An experimental study of the European Medicines Agency’s legitimacy in health security regulation
Rimkutė, D., & Mazepus, H. (2023) · Journal of European Public Policy · doi:10.1080/13501763.2023.2171091 · Cited by 18
“Operationalization of the outcome variable: perceived legitimacy of the EMA We measured our outcome variable using four survey questions that tap into legitimacy models proposed by Levi et al. (2009).”
BackgroundMethod
Divided Nation: The North-South Cleavage in Italian Tax Compliance
D’Attoma, J. W. (2017) · Polity · doi:10.1086/689982 · Cited by 16
Normative vs. Instrumental model of police legitimacy: examining the mediation effects of fear of sanction
Lee, S., Callahan, J. T., & Kwak, D. (2022) · International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice · doi:10.1080/01924036.2022.2115523 · Cited by 16
“…of legitimacy such as procedural justice (e.g., Baker & Gau, 2018; Jackson et al., 2013; Madon et al., 2017), distributive justice (e.g., Tankebe et al., 2016; Tyler & Fagan, 2008; Woo et al., 2018), and police effectiveness (e.g., Levi et al., 2009; Reisig et al., 2014; Wolfe et al., 2017).”
Background
Foreign aid projects and trust in political institutions
Watkins, M. (2021) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12628 · Cited by 15
Public Health Law Modernization 2.0: Rebalancing Public Health Powers And Individual Liberty In The Age Of COVID-19
Mello, M. M., & Gostin, L. O. (2023) · Health Affairs · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01292 · Cited by 15
Strategic Taxation
Martin, L. E. S. (2023) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197672631.001.0001 · Cited by 17
Situational social influence leading to non-compliance with conservation rules
Arlidge, W. N. S., Arlinghaus, R., Kurvers, R. H. J. M., Nassauer, A., Oyanedel, R., & Krause, J. (2023) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.003 · Cited by 16
Do Local Government Reforms Result in Higher Levels of Trust in Local Politicians?
Reitan, M., Gustafsson, K., & Blekesaune, A. (2014) · Local Government Studies · doi:10.1080/03003930.2014.891983 · Cited by 15
“…of legitimacy describes the beliefs that citizens hold about the normative appropriateness of government structures, officials and processes (Levi et al. 2009) the concept of trust deals with beliefs about the actual behaviour of individuals in fulfilling their normatively defined roles…”
Background
Wahlen, Strategien autokratischer Herrschaftssicherung und das Überleben autokratischer Regierungen
Lueders, H., & Croissant, A. (2014) · Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft · doi:10.1007/s12286-014-0228-3 · Cited by 15
Compliance with ivory trade regulations in the United Kingdom among traders
Harris, L., Gore, M. L., & Mills, M. (2019) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/cobi.13277 · Cited by 17
“Normative factors, such as perceived effectiveness and effort of regulatory institutions, can create support and a sense of legitimacy for regulations, increasing voluntary compliance (Levi et al. 2009; Arias 2015).”
Background
A Communicative Action Approach to Evaluating Citizen Support for a Government's Smoking Policies
Chang, L., Jacobson, T. L., & Zhang, W. (2013) · Journal of Communication · doi:10.1111/jcom.12065 · Cited by 15
“In recent years growing attention has been paid to the empirical examination of legitimacy appraisals and procedural judgment (Carpini, Cook, & Jacobs, 2004; Levi et al., 2009; Zelditch, 2001).”
Background
Improving the Budget Process in Fragile and Conflict‐Ridden States: Two Modest Lessons from Afghanistan
Guinn, D. E., & Straussman, J. D. (2015) · Public Administration Review · doi:10.1111/puar.12397 · Cited by 14
Does Political Legitimacy Matter for Policy Capacity?
Mazepus, H. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-54675-9_10 · Cited by 17
“In modern states, the benefits of legitimacy may include citizens’ compliance with laws, voting, payment of taxes, participation in solving community problems, military service, and defense of one’s country (Beetham 2006; Booth and Seligson 2005, 2009; Levi et al. 2009; Sunshine and Tyler 2003).”
Background
The Impact of Aid Dynamics on State Effectiveness and Legitimacy
Barma, N. H., Levy, N., & Piombo, J. (2020) · Studies in Comparative International Development · doi:10.1007/s12116-020-09304-7 · Cited by 14
A Framework for Understanding Credibility : What Makes Credible Messengers “Credible” in a New York City–Based Sample of Gun Violence Intervention Programs?
Szkola, J., & Blount‐Hill, K. (2024) · Criminal Justice and Behavior · doi:10.1177/00938548241291032 · Cited by 13
“Legitimacy is the subject of a significant and growing CJ literature. while its contours are still debated, we define legitimacy as “the state of being accepted as authoritative” (Blount-Hill, 2020, p. 116; Levi et al., 2009; Tyler, 2006).”
The Role of Doctor's Authority in Patients' Treatment Decisions
Prusiński, T. (2022) · American Journal of Health Behavior · doi:10.5993/ajhb.46.5.2 · Cited by 13
Does Election Fraud Erode Support for Autocrats?
Aarslew, L. F. (2023) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/00104140231209959 · Cited by 14
“Regime legitimacy refers to the perception that government has a right to make binding political decisions and that people, therefore, have a moral obligation to comply with such decisions (Gilley, 2009; Levi et al., 2009).”
Substantive-rational authority: The missing fourth pure type in Weber’s typology of legitimate domination
Guzmán, S. G. (2014) · Journal of Classical Sociology · doi:10.1177/1468795x14531695 · Cited by 18
“…and many scholars have shown empirically, a more stable and effective basis to secure compliance is the frequent “belief in legitimacy” (ES: 213), which systems of domination attempt to establish (cf. Levi et al., 2009; Tyler, 2006, for reviews of the extensive research supporting this claim).”
Background
Open Decision-Making Procedures and Public Legitimacy
Licht, J. D. F., & Naurin, D. (2015) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781316015360.007 · Cited by 12
Citizens by Design? Explaining Ex-Combatant Satisfaction with Reintegration Programming
Oppenheim, B., & Söderström, J. (2017) · The Journal of Development Studies · doi:10.1080/00220388.2017.1288225 · Cited by 15
What explains the North–South divide in Italian tax compliance? An experimental analysis
D’Attoma, J. W. (2018) · Acta Politica · doi:10.1057/s41269-018-0077-1 · Cited by 13
Breaking the Silence: Investigating Which Types of Moderation Reduce Negative Effects of Sexist Social Media Content
Saße, J., & Großklags, J. (2023) · Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction · doi:10.1145/3610176 · Cited by 12
Gender Differences in Children’s Reasoning About and Motivation to Pursue Leadership Roles
Vial, A. C., & Cimpian, A. (2023) · Sex Roles · doi:10.1007/s11199-023-01428-z · Cited by 15
“A lack of social support is particularly discouraging for would-be leaders, who must garner support from others or risk having their authority questioned (e.g., Levi et al., 2009).”
On Legitimacy Feedback Mechanisms in Agent-Based Modeling of Civil Violence
Lemos, C. M., Lopes, R. J., & Coelho, H. (2015) · International Journal of Intelligent Systems · doi:10.1002/int.21747 · Cited by 11
Does transparency generate legitimacy? An experimental study of procedure acceptance of open- and closed-door decision-making
Licht, J. D. F., Naurin, D., Esaiasson, P., & Gilljam, M. (2011) · Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University) · Cited by 12
The Effects of Foreign Aid on Rebel Governance: Evidence from a Large-Scale U.S. Aid Program in Syria
Carnegie, A. S., Howe, K., Lichtenheld, A., & Mukhopadhyay, D. (2019) · Economics and Politics · doi:10.1111/ecpo.12178 · Cited by 12
Dynamics of peace or legacy of rebel governance? Patterns of cooperation between FARC-ex-combatants and conflict-affected communities in Colombia
Richter, S., & Sabogal, L. C. B. (2022) · Small Wars and Insurgencies · doi:10.1080/09592318.2022.2117824 · Cited by 12
Doing Minority Justice Through Procedural Fairness: Face Veil Bans in Europe
Chaib, S. O., Chaib, S. O., & Brems, E. (2013) · Journal of Muslims in Europe · doi:10.1163/22117954-12341248 · Cited by 12
Legitimacy, metacoordination and context-dependence
Maffettone, P., & Ulaş, L. (2019) · International Theory · doi:10.1017/s1752971918000258 · Cited by 13
La reprise d’entreprise par les femmes : stéréotypes liés au genre et construction de la légitimité
Deschamps, B., & Thévenard‐Puthod, C. (2024) · Revue internationale P M E Économie et gestion de la petite et moyenne entreprise · doi:10.7202/1111059ar · Cited by 11
"A right to lead": The role of leader legitimacy on group reactions to transgressive leadership
Marques, A. G., Pinto, I. R., Leite, A. C., de Moura, G. R., van Prooijen, J., & Marques, J. M. (2021) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/jasp.12739 · Cited by 14
“In this sense, legitimacy becomes a requirement for a leader’s ability to exert influence and power, which ultimately creates a sense of duty and obligation amongst followers (Levi et al., 2009).”
Background
Trust in government and electronic levy payment decisions in Ghana
Amoah, B., Amoah, A., Kwablah, E., et al. (2023) · Urban Governance · doi:10.1016/j.ugj.2023.08.004 · Cited by 11
Integrating theories of law obedience: How utility-theoretic factors, legitimacy, and lack of self-control influence decisions to commit low-level crimes
de Puiseau, B. W., Glöckner, A., & Towfigh, E. V. (2019) · Judgment and Decision Making · doi:10.1017/s1930297500004368 · Cited by 12
“…(Bradford, Huq, Jackson & Roberts, 2013; Brubacher, Fondacaro, Brank, Brown & Scott, 2009; Jackson et al., 2012; Huq, Tyler & Schulhofer, 2011; Levi et al., 2009; Nivette & Eisner, 2013; Reisig, Tankebe & Mesko, 2013; Sunshine & Tyler, 2003a, 2003b; Tankebe, 2013; Tyler, 1988, 1990; 2000,…”
Background
Words Like Weapons: Labeling Women As Emotional During a Disagreement Negatively Affects the Perceived Legitimacy of Their Arguments
Frasca, T. J., Leskinen, E. A., & Warner, L. R. (2022) · Psychology of Women Quarterly · doi:10.1177/03616843221123745 · Cited by 19
“Empirical work has also shown that perceptions of legitimacy increase compliance with requests from and deference to authorities, and acceptance of information (Johnson et al., 2006; Levi et al., 2009).”
Background
Alternative Systems: The Interplay Between Criminal Groups’ Influence and Political Trust on Civic Honesty in the Global Context
Travaglino, G. A., Burgmer, P., & Mirisola, A. (2023) · Social Psychological and Personality Science · doi:10.1177/19485506231176615 · Cited by 15
Political and organizational legitimacy of public sector auditing in New Zealand local government
Colquhoun, P. (2013) · Accounting History · doi:10.1177/1032373213505798 · Cited by 11
“Figure 1 outlines the typologies of organizational legitimacy based on Suchman (1995) and political legitimacy based on Levi et al. (2009).”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Antecedents of trust in the judiciary: between fair process and high satisfaction
Mizrahi, S., Vigoda‐Gadot, E., & Cohen, N. (2020) · International Public Management Journal · doi:10.1080/10967494.2020.1819920 · Cited by 11
The Phenomenon of Anti-Doping Policy Legitimacy in the Social Psychology of Sports
Bondarev, D., Алексеевич, Б. К., & Barkoukis, V. (2021) · Clinical Psychology and Special Education · doi:10.17759/cpse.2021100106 · Cited by 12
Categorizing Taxpayers: A Mixed-Method Study on Small Business Tax Compliance in the Philippines
Angeles, I. T. (2021) · The South East Asian Journal of Management · doi:10.21002/seam.v15i2.13295 · Cited by 10
Overselling democracy–claiming legitimacy? The link between democratic pretention, notions of democracy and citizens' evaluations of regimes' democraticness
Brunkert, L. J. (2022) · Frontiers in Political Science · doi:10.3389/fpos.2022.880709 · Cited by 12
“375) and thereby allowing ruling elites to govern without the constant need for justification (Beetham, 1991; Gilley, 2009; Levi et al., 2009; Gerschewski, 2013).”
Background
Risk, social protection and trust amidst cuts in welfare spending
Hadis, B. F. (2014) · Health Risk & Society · doi:10.1080/13698575.2014.936832 · Cited by 12
“It also indicates a low degree of generalised trust, insofar as access to protection is based on favouritism, which breeds further insecurity, resentment, and low behavioural legitimacy (compliance) (Levi et al., 2009) on the part of the vastly excluded population.”
BackgroundInfluential
The ‘Logics’ of Procedural-Type Review by the European Court of Human Rights
Brems, E. (2017) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316874844.002 · Cited by 10
Measuring the legitimacy of energy transition policy in the Netherlands
Vringer, K., & Carabain, C. L. (2020) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111229 · Cited by 10
Captured Courts and Legitimized Autocrats: Transforming Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court
Williams, N. W., & Hanson, M. (2022) · Law & Social Inquiry · doi:10.1017/lsi.2021.85 · Cited by 10
“Legitimacy broadly speaking refers to “the beliefs that bolster willing obedience,” which makes citizen compliance with the state easier to obtain (Levi, Sacks, and Tyler 2009, 354).”
Background
Does Political Participation Influence the Waste Classification Behavior of Rural Residents? Empirical Evidence from Rural China
Song, Y., Zhan, Y., Qi, Y., et al. (2022) · Agriculture · doi:10.3390/agriculture12050625 · Cited by 10
Questioning fairness: the relationship of mental health and psychopathic characteristics with young offenders' perceptions of procedural justice and legitimacy
Penner, E. K., Shaffer, C. S., & Viljoen, J. L. (2016) · Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health · doi:10.1002/cbm.2004 · Cited by 10
Procedures Matter: Strong Voice, Evaluations of Policy Performance, and Regime Support
Rhodes-Purdy, M. (2020) · Political Studies · doi:10.1177/0032321720903813 · Cited by 10
“In addition, Tom Tyler’s work on legitimacy (e.g. Jackson et al., 2012; Levi et al., 2009; Lind and Tyler, 1988; Tyler, 2006a, 2006b; Tyler and Jackson, 2014) applies theories of procedural justice to political behavior, finding repeatedly that individuals are more likely to voluntarily comply with…”
Background
Follow the hand that feeds you? The effects of non‐governmental cash transfers on citizenship
Grisolia, F., Dewachter, S., & Holvoet, N. (2023) · Social Policy & Administration · doi:10.1111/spol.12914 · Cited by 9
Improving compliance around protected areas through fair administration of rules
Ibbett, H., Dorward, L., Jones, J. P. G., et al. (2024) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/cobi.14332 · Cited by 9
“All these behaviors corrode trust in authorities and contribute to reduced compliance (Huq et al., 2016; Kahler et al., 2013; Levi et al., 2009; Moreto & Gau, 2017).”
The Integration of Deliberative Mini-publics in Collaborative Governance Through the Perspectives of Citizens and Stakeholders: The Case of the Education Reform in French-speaking Belgium
Vrydagh, J., Devillers, S., & Reuchamps, M. (2020) · Representation · doi:10.1080/00344893.2020.1853599 · Cited by 12
“Legitimacy refers to the belief someone has ‘about the normative appropriateness of government structures, officials, and processes’ (Levi et al., 2009, p. 354).”
Background
The Economy and Governance as Determinants of Political Trust in Europe: An Analysis of the European Values Study and World Values Survey, 1990-2019
Kołczyńska, M. (2021) · Czech Sociological Review · doi:10.13060/csr.2020.051 · Cited by 9
Are We All Equally Persuaded by Procedural Justice?
Pina-Sánchez, J., & Brunton‐Smith, I. (2021) · Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology · doi:10.1007/s40865-021-00170-y · Cited by 9
“…have also been found for outcomes and processes delivered by a wide range of different institutions, such as courts (Baker et al., 2015; Levi et al., 2009; Tyler & Rasinski, 1991), prisons (Beijersbergen et al., 2015; Brunton-Smith & McCarthy, 2016), tax authorities (Hartner et al.,…”
Background
Public Channels of Access and State-Citizen Encounters in the Namibian Tax System
Söderström, J., & Wangel, M. (2022) · Administration & Society · doi:10.1177/00953997221133503 · Cited by 10
“performance, accountability, and legitimacy (see e.g., Fjeldstad et al., 2012; Levi, 1988; Levi et al., 2009; Putnam et al., 1992; Rothstein, 2011; Speer, 2012).”
Power politics: Armed non-state actors and the capture of public electricity in post-invasion Baghdad
Parreira, C. (2020) · Journal of Peace Research · doi:10.1177/0022343320940768 · Cited by 9
Taxation, Democracy and State-Building: how does sequencing matter?
D’Arcy, M. (2012) · Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) · Cited by 9
Legitimacy, Losing, But Accepting: A Test of Positivity Theory and the Effects of Judicial SymbolsPreprint
Gibson, J. L., Lodge, M. G., & Woodson, B. (2014) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2448710 · Cited by 9
Police, non-state actors, and political legitimacy in Central America
Cruz, J. M. (2022) · Policing & Society · doi:10.1080/10439463.2022.2037559 · Cited by 8
Experiments About Institutions
Callen, M. J., Weigel, J., & Yuchtman, N. (2024) · Annual Review of Economics · doi:10.1146/annurev-economics-091823-031317 · Cited by 8
Klassenspezifische Wahlabstinenz – Spielt das Vertrauen in politische Institutionen eine Rolle?
Hadjar, A., & Köthemann, D. (2014) · KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie · doi:10.1007/s11577-013-0242-5 · Cited by 8
Regime Support Beyond the Balance Sheet: Participation and Policy Performance in Latin America
Rhodes-Purdy, M. (2017) · Cited by 8
When loyalty binds: Examining the effectiveness of group versus personal loyalty calls on followers’ compliance with leaders’ unethical requests
Hildreth, J. A. D. (2024) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2024.104310 · Cited by 9
A review of the evidence informing DFID's "Building Peaceful States and Societies" practice paper 1
Evans, W. (2012) · Cited by 8
Concepts of Legitimacy: Congruence and Divergence in the Afghan Conflict
Minatti, W., & Duyvesteyn, I. (2019) · Civil Wars · doi:10.1080/13698249.2020.1686876 · Cited by 8
“First, the debate has predominantly adopted a utilitarian understanding of legitimacy, considering it mainly a function of social contract theory, democratisation or good governance (Levi et al. 2009, Rothstein 2009).”
Background
Are service‐delivery NGO s building state capacity in the Global South? Experiences from HIV / AIDS programmes in rural Uganda
Bukenya, B. (2017) · Development Policy Review · doi:10.1111/dpr.12240 · Cited by 35
Evaluating legitimacy and marginalization: Campus policing in the State of Rhode Island
Wilson, C. P., & Wilson, S. A. (2015) · Cogent Social Sciences · doi:10.1080/23311886.2015.1006091 · Cited by 8
Peacebuilding and State Legitimacy: Evidence from Two Lab-in-the-Field Experiments in LiberiaPreprint
Blair, R. (2013) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.2326671 · Cited by 8
Co-Financing Community-Driven Development Through Informal Taxation: Experimental Evidence from South-Central Somalia
van den Boogaard, V., & Santoro, F. (2021) · doi:10.19088/ictd.2021.016 · Cited by 9
Compliance under distrust: do people comply less when they feel distrusted?
Mendoza, J., & Wielhouwer, J. L. (2024) · Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory · doi:10.1093/jopart/muae025 · Cited by 9
No Taxation without Administration: Bringing the State Back into the Public Finance of Developing Countries
Jensen, A., & Weigel, J. (2026) · Journal of Economic Literature · doi:10.1257/jel.20251760 · Cited by 9
Do Women Prefer In-Group Police Officers? Survey and Experimental Evidence From India
Jassal, N., & Barnhardt, S. (2023) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/00104140231194070 · Cited by 7
“The concept of legitimacy is central in political science (Blair & Roessler, 2021; Levi et al., 2009; Scherer & Curry, 2010), and research shows that the presence of women in politics affects democratic legitimacy (Clayton et al., 2019; Dollar et al., 2001; Hinojosa & Kittilson, 2020).”
An Assessment of the Implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in Kenya
Kilonzo, N., Heinen, J. T., & Byakagaba, P. (2024) · Diversity · doi:10.3390/d16030183 · Cited by 7
In court we trust? Political affinity and citizen's attitudes toward court's decisions
Pereira, C., Klevenhusen, A., & Barros, L. S. G. (2024) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12898 · Cited by 7
Fair division for avoidance of biodiversity impacts
Booth, H. L., Milner‐Gulland, E. J., Bang, A. H. Y., et al. (2024) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2024.09.002 · Cited by 7
Moral Cosmopolitanism and the Right to Immigration
Yüksekdağ, Y. (2012) · Cited by 7
Theories of police legitimacy – its sources and effects
Homolová, P. (2018) · AUC PHILOSOPHICA ET HISTORICA · doi:10.14712/24647055.2018.6 · Cited by 7
Civil War and Citizens' Demand for the State: An Empirical Test of Hobbesian Theory
Blair, R. (2019) · British Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1017/s0007123420000885 · Cited by 7
“First, it extends research on the determinants of citizens’ attitudes towards the state (Braithwaite and Levi 2003; Levi 1989; Levi, Sacks and Tyler 2009; Tyler 2006), as well as studies on the effects of wartime violence on citizens’ social and political dispositions (see Bauer et al.”
Co‐optation in co‐production: Maintaining credibility and legitimacy in transboundary environmental governance in East Asia
Otsuka, K. (2022) · Review of Policy Research · doi:10.1111/ropr.12497 · Cited by 7
Citizen feedback in a fragile setting: social accountability interventions in the primary healthcare sector in Sierra Leone
Pieterse, P. (2019) · Disasters · doi:10.1111/disa.12331 · Cited by 7
Trust, Sociology of
Levi, M. (2015) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-097086-8.32162-6 · Cited by 7
Self-citation
Reforming Village-Level Governance via Horizontal Pressure: Evidence from an Experiment in Zimbabwe
BALDWIN, K. A., Muyengwa, S., & Mvukiyehe, E. (2017) · World Bank, Washington, DC eBooks · doi:10.1596/1813-9450-7941 · Cited by 7
Legitimacy and Legitimation Strategies in Authoritarian Regimes
Grauvogel, J., & von Soest, C. (2024) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198871996.013.55 · Cited by 6
Tax evasion attitude and taxpayers’ perception of government legitimacy: evidence from Southern Ethiopia
Lorato, T., Sendaba, Y., & Tadesse, T. (2024) · Cogent Economics & Finance · doi:10.1080/23322039.2024.2371944 · Cited by 14
“According to Levi et al. (2009), government legitimacy is the belief that citizens hold about the appropriateness of the government structure, officers, and process.”
La RSE comme vecteur de légitimité du repreneur externe d’une petite entreprise
Mazari, L., Berger‐Douce, S., & Deschamps, B. (2019) · Revue internationale P M E Économie et gestion de la petite et moyenne entreprise · doi:10.7202/1062127ar · Cited by 6
Leaving the Barracks: Military Coups in Developing Democracies
Hunter, L. Y., Rutland, J., & King, Z. T. (2020) · Politics & Policy · doi:10.1111/polp.12383 · Cited by 7
The legitimizing roles of respectful treatment and direct democracy in collective decision‐making: A school‐based study
Šerek, J., Juhová, D. S., & Lomičová, L. (2021) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/jasp.12839 · Cited by 8
Growing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: The interplay among transformational leadership in government, public trust, and posttraumatic growth
Yang, H. M., Tong, K. K., Chen, J. H., Yu, E. W., & Wu, A. M. S. (2023) · Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology · doi:10.1177/18344909221146254 · Cited by 7
“…effect of transformational leadership because individuals are more likely to be inspired or motivated by a government they trust (Chanley et al., 2000; Levi et al., 2009), and transformational leaders lacking trust may be considered ineffective in reaching their goals or achieving their vision…”
Background
Testing the procedural justice model of legal socialization: Expanding beyond the legal world
Trinkner, R. J. (2012) · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · Cited by 6
The Power of Beliefs
Levi, M. (2021) · Annual Review of Political Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-051120-013517 · Cited by 6
Self-citation
Locating federalism: Non‐financial assets and public policy in Canada
Sayers, A. M., Alcantara, C., & Armstrong, D. A., II (2022) · Canadian Public Administration · doi:10.1111/capa.12461 · Cited by 6

Authors: Levi, M., Sacks, A., & Tyler, T.
Affiliations: University of Washington (US)
New York University (US)
Corresponding author: Levi, Margaret
ORCID: Levi, Margaret
Tyler, Tom
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

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Conceptualizing Legitimacy, Measuring Legitimating Beliefs

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks