Examine_and_Assess_the_Ways_in_Which_States_Claim_Legitimacy

In this essay my aim is to examine and assess the different ways that states claim legitimacy. First let us examine two of the ways we can define states: The state is an idea based on shared expectations about the ordering of social life, a set of organisations and a set of practices. Secondly, the state is a mixture of complex organisations and practices such as the The National Health Service, the Police, Hospitals, Local Councils, Tax Offices, Post Offices and the Citizens Advice Bureau. In 1918 the German sociologist Max Weber defined the state as “ an organisation that successfully claims a monopoly of the legitimate use of force in a given territory‘” (Weber,1991[1921], p. 78 ) States today do more than fifty years ago and they are busy in terms of regulating and solving problems and functioning on a multiple level. Christopher Hood (1982) a political scientist has argued that the bodies making up the state are a “formless mass” because states nowadays are so large and complex it is almost impossible to describe their importance and beyond their importance also their many functions. In the UK, after Privatization, a large amount of state run industries and or services were transferred to private ownership. For example the utilities such as gas, electricity and water and transport services are now run by private companies. In order to examine the complex purposes and responsibilities of the state let us use the example of a hospital. Not only is there the building to maintain, there is the equipment, for .e.g. life support machines, MRI machines, X ray equipment. Most of these machines are provided by the state. There are also all the national health service workers: doctors, nurses, radiologists, and all the support staff such as administrators, receptionists and cleaners all of whom are paid by the state and perform a myriad of functions designed to support the health of the nation. When we think of the state we think of something solid and established in our lives. The population of a state contribute towards the state’s financial status. For example people pay taxes and national insurance contributions and payments such as car tax the MOT is collected by the state. One of the examples of how states claim legitimacy is through citizenship ceremonies such as marriage. Through these ceremonies the state and the individual legitimise their relationship. The word ‘legitimacy’ refers to a belief of the rightness of the state in order for it to be accepted by it’s citizens as a constitution. Political elections are the simplest way of expressing our preference for the kind of government we would like our state to have. David Beetham (1992) said that political legitimacy can arise from: - 1.legal validity - the government is formed and state agencies are operating ,according to the rules of constitution. 2. The justifiability of those rules in terms of local values 3. Evidence of express consent- the people’s voice ; expressing their agreement or disagreement with government policies eg, voting States can exercise their legitimacy in many ways. For e.g. the smoking ban which came into effect in the UK in 2007. With the introduction of the smoking ban smoking was banned in all indoor public places such as pubs, night clubs, cafes and restaurants. One of the major ways state claim legitimacy is through the police force. The job of the police force is to look after it’s citizens and keep the social order. Co- operation with legal authorities and public compliance with the law is crucial to keep social order . As Tyler (2008: 803) said ‘Decisions made by police officers and judges mean little if people fail to take them seriously, and laws lack importance if they do not affect public behavior.’ The presence of the police power is needed to avoid anarchism in the state. In most states in a ‘normally working’ society the citizens accept the authority of the police and feel protected by it . As this is something our generation and older generations have grown up with we may not question it and tend to accept it' In states such as Zimbabwe which we could think of as a Totalitarian state the police are brutal and corrupt - definitely not looking after the citizens, and law, order and any claim that the state is acting legitimately is very tenuous. However the government of states such as Zimbabwe claim they act legitimately and in the interests of the people. It is only the state that can enforce and make laws legitimately. Most of us want to reduce corruption and we want fair and equal treatment at the hands of the state. In essence we want justice and good governance from our state. Weber says that the state claims a monopoly of force, but John Hoffman a political theorist argues paradoxically against this theory. Hoffman say: A state claims a monopoly of legitimate force, but ironically it is only because ‘competitors’( that is, criminals ,terrorists ,etc.) contest the state’s claim to have a monopoly of legitimate force that the state can exist at all. A state that really did have a monopoly of legitimate force would have no reason to exist. Think of a state in which everyone acted peacefully and regarded all laws as legitimate. It would be wholly redundant! (Hoffman,2007,p. 45) As we are not living in a peaceful, conflict free world and are threatened by dangers such as terrorism the states have to use their peace keeping forces such as NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) to protect us. Demonstrating power through military forces is a major way states show who is in power. States do not necessarily agree on the legitimate use of their power. For e.g the Invasion of Iraq in 2003. The country had suffered under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship for many years . The USA, under president George W. Bush and The United Kingdom, under Tony Blair together with Australia and Poland formed a coalition to attack Iraq. Other states opposed this decision and felt it was an unlawful therefore illegitimate use of power. States can also disagree on international order and some decisions are regarded as illegitimate by some states and illegitimate by others. Also, not all states have the same power. ’Superpower’ is the name we give to the biggest and most developed countries with powerful military forces and great sums of money behind them. The United Nation was established after the Second World War and includes all the states of the world. The UN is based on the idea of sovereign equality-a formal notion that refers to the equal treatment of each state under international law. States have formal equality under international law. They work closely together to fight against causes such as piracy and the domestic labour of children in Africa. Within the UN the security council has the highest authority. The members are the most powerful states namely the USA, UK, Russia, China and France. These countries are permanent members and also the UN has ten rotating members. Any of these states has a ’veto’ which means any of these five states can stop a proposed resolution of the Security Council. In the 20th century, social order we need a solid set of organizations like the state to practise legitimacy and bring laws and regulations into practise to avoid social disorder and chaos in society. The state is an organisation which is going to be a working organization for a long time in the future. As long as states require law and order, we will always require key individuals to manage the state. Word count:1393 words Footnotes: S.Bromley, J. Clarke,S. Hincliffe and S.Taylor (eds.)2009 Exploring social lives,Milton Keynes/TheOpen University Weber, M. (1991 [1921] From Max Weber(ed. H.H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills),London ,Routhledge Beetham, D.(1992) The legitimation of power, Basingstoke ,Macmillan Tyler, T. 2008. ‘Psychology and Institutional Design’, Review of Economics and Law, 4:3, 801-887. Hoffman J.(2007)’Sovereignty’ in Blakeley G. and Bryson, V. (eds) The impact of Feminism on Political Concepts and Debates, Manchester, Manchester University Press