Traditional and Religious Legitimacy Concepts

Non-Western, tradition- or religion-derived sources of legitimate political authority, corresponding to Max Weber's traditional and charismatic categories of legitimate authority rather than his legal-rational category: the Mandate of Heaven, the classical Chinese doctrine that a ruler's legitimacy derives from divine sanction contingent on just rule, and shura, the Islamic principle of consultation as a source of legitimate governance. Belongs here: a source of legitimate authority grounded in tradition, religious sanction or scripture rather than in popular consent. Does not belong here: a modern consent-based legitimacy theory, grouped under Legitimacy and Political Authority.