Sovereignty, Power, Authority and Legitimacy
What the domain tests
This domain tests conceptual boundaries: who can command, why obedience is owed, and when force is not authority. Expect definitions, types, and applied distinctions.
Core ideas
- Sovereignty: supreme legal authority within a territory and independence externally. It may be internal or external, legal or political, de jure or de facto. Popular sovereignty locates ultimate authority in the people.
- Power: the capacity to influence outcomes, including through coercion, resources, or bargaining.
- Authority: rightful power, accepted as binding because of law, tradition, or office.
- Legitimacy: the belief that rule is morally or legally justified. Max Weber distinguished traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational legitimacy.
Worked example
A police officer stopping traffic has authority backed by law and office. An armed group controlling a road may have power, but it lacks legitimate authority unless widely accepted. The reasoning separates the ability to compel from the right to command.
Traps
Do not say sovereignty means unlimited practical power; international law, federalism and human rights constrain its exercise. Do not treat authority as identical with coercion. Do not assume legality alone creates legitimacy.