Political Legitimacy in Revolutionary France, 1788-1791

Political Legitimacy in Revolutionary France, I788-I79I Changes in political legitimacy in democracies are moral and psychological components of the process of political development that have significant consequences for the stability of governments. For many French citizens the fundamental legitimacy of representative and democratic institutions and the right of opposition are today still in question. This article, which examines the political attitudes and behavior of the deputies to the National Assembly-the initial liberal institution in Revolutionary France-focuses on their failure to establish democratic legitimacy. Legitimacy is defined here, following Lipset, as the belief on the part of the governed that their rulers and authoritative institutions are the correct ones for their society.' This belief is partially learned and partially earned through effective government, and it also results from a rational choice of political options. People develop their expectations about politics from what they learn and experience, chiefly through their group affiliations. They judge the performance of political elites and institutions on the basis of those expectations. A political system is legitimate when its citizens have agreed to support it as the best available alternative.2 People can be cynical about a system but tolerate it because they find open channels of corruption or bribery or be

Legitimacy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European Political History Analysis · Law · Political Theory and Influence

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