Insecure Presidents

The Construction of Legitimacy in Imperfect Elections

Bibliographic Data

ID6182398
AuthorsAnne C Pluta (0000-0003-0867-3253, Political Science and Economics, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume49
Issue2
Pages137-164
Publication date2022-05-04
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCongress & the Presidency (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0734-3469 • E-ISSN: 1944-1053
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/07343469.2021.1884144
OpenAlexW3158711310
LanguageEN
References cited23

This paper illustrates how presidents who lose the popular vote but win the Electoral College establish legitimacy. Using 5 cases (1824, 1876, 1888, 2000, and 2016), I show how presidents in different eras tried to establish themselves as legitimate despite elements of electoral insecurity. Using historical newspapers and primary documents, I find that construction of legitimacy has evolved over time and depends on both the circumstances of the election and the president's ability to acknowledge and confront their own insecurity

Imperfect · Legitimacy · Newspaper · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America · Public Administration

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