(a) What is political authority? (b) Explain the various types of political authority.

Answer Details

(a) Meaning of political authority

Political authority is the legitimate or rightful power to make binding decisions, issue commands and enforce obedience within a state. It is power that is recognised and accepted as lawful by the people, so that citizens obey not merely out of fear but because they believe those who exercise it have the right to do so.

(b) Types of political authority (after Max Weber)

1. Traditional authority: Authority based on long-established customs, traditions and inherited status. Obedience is given because "it has always been so"; it is exercised by kings, chiefs and emirs whose right to rule is inherited.
2. Charismatic authority: Authority derived from the exceptional personal qualities, heroism or magnetism of an individual leader. Followers obey because of their devotion to and belief in the extraordinary personality of the leader, for example a great nationalist or religious leader.
3. Legal-rational authority: Authority based on a system of established laws, rules and procedures. Obedience is given to the office and the law rather than to the person; those in power hold authority only by virtue of the legal position they occupy, for example an elected president or a civil servant.

(Others sometimes listed: coercive, delegated and de facto/de jure authority.)