Legal domination
Rational-legal authority (also known as rational authority, legal authority, rational domination, legal domination) is a form of leadership in which the authority of an organization or a ruling regime is largely tied to legal rationality, legal legitimacy and bureaucracy. The majority of the modern states of the twentieth century are rational-legal authorities, according to those who use this form of classification.
Rational-legal authority in sociology
In sociology, the concept of rational-legal domination comes from Max Weber's tripartite classification of authority (one of several classifications of government, used by sociologists); the other two forms being traditional authority and charismatic authority. All of those three domination types represent an example of his ideal type concept. Weber noted that it in history those ideal types of domination are always found in combinations.
In traditional authority, the legitimacy of the authority comes from tradition. Charismatic authority is legitimized by the personality and leadership qualities of the ruling individual. Finally, rational-legal authority derives its powers from the system of bureaucracy and legality.
Legal rationality and legitimacy
In the modern state, people (and legal practitioners) attribute legitimacy to a legal order insofar as its laws have been enacted (this concept of legal authority and its legitmacy should be understood in the light of arguments of the natural law and legal positivism).
Weber defined legal order as a system where the rules are implemented and obeyed in the belief that they are legitimate because they conform with the statuses of a government that monopolizes their enactment and the legitimate use of physical force.
Emergence of the modern state
Weber wrote that the distinctively rational characteristis of the state emerged from the patrimonial and feudal struggle for power can be found only in the Western civilisation. The prerequisites for the modern Western state are:
- monopolisation by central authority of the means of domination and administration based on:
- * centrally directed and permanent system of taxation
- * centrally directed and permanent system of miliatry force
- monopolisation of legal enactments and the legitimate use of force by central authority
- organisation of a ratioanlly oriented officialdom, whose exercise of administrative function is dependent upon the central authority
Weber argued that some of those attributes have existed in various time or places, but combined they have emerged only in the Occidental civilisation. The conditions that favoured this were:
- emergence of legal rationality. Various bureaucracy - please see that article for the description of bureaucracy ideal type.
Vast majority of the modern states from the XX century onward fall under the rational-legal authority cathegory.
Rational-legal leaders
Majority of modern politicians represent this type of authority.
Weber distinguished between bureaucratic officials and charismatic appeal to win elections under conditions of universal suffrage.
See also
