One of the main points that I kept hearing in Prof. David O. Kieft's modern history course was the issue of legitimacy.
The electic and diaelectic approach to the question of legitimacy are either: to proceed with an understanding of the legitimacy question, but to work around it by constructing positive solutions to the problems that really need to be addressed, thereby gaining progressive support, or, to create new problems which the ruler can successfully address, usually gaining nationalistic and populist support.
Posted by ledlogic at November 7, 2004 10:44 PM