----- Original Message ----- From: "Yoshie Furuhashi" <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu>
> Terry Jones
> Sunday April 21, 2002
> The Observer
> When asked whether the Bush administration now recognised President
> Chavez as Venezuela's legitimate President, a spokesman for President
> Bush conceded that although Mr Chavez 'was democratically elected'
> one had to bear in mind that 'legitimacy is something that is
> conferred not just by a majority of the voters, however' [sic].
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"Arthur Stinchombe's aggreably cynical treatment of legitimacy serves the purpose of political analysis much more efficiently. Legitimacy, according to Stinchombe, depends rather little on abstract principle or assent of the governed: 'The person *over whom power is being exercised* is not usually as important as *other power-holders*.' Legitimacy is the probability that other authorities will act to confirm the decisions of a given authority." [Charles Tilly]
Ian