Legitimacy and Popular Authority

Concepts about what makes the exercise of power rightful and about who holds ultimate authority. An entry belongs here when its cited source describes the grounds on which a ruling order is accepted as having the right to rule, or the location of final authority in a political community. Legitimacy is the widely recognized right of a government or order to rule, and popular sovereignty is the principle that ultimate political authority rests with the people. The group lets a reader compare the general question of rightful rule with one prominent answer to it.