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Legitimate Power

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Legitimate Power

Questions: What is power? How does the State exert power? Is the State's exertion of

power legitimate?

Power gives a few people the capacity to influence and direct others and the course of

events in a political system. However, the influence and exertion of power in a country has to be

legitimate to receive the people's support and enable the success of actions under the power.

President Trump gives a good example of how governments exert power over their people and

other countries through decision-making (Kim & Jonathan, P. 258). However, the legitimacy of

power exerted by a state may differ based on the people's perceptions of how those in power got

the position, which brings in the legitimacy of elected leaders to ensure power legitimacy

(Franck, P. 220). When establishing the legitimacy of power, it is critical to consider the

influence of those outside the political system on those in it. However, this is rarely achieved, as

seen in the US, where most believe corporations influence the State's power and thus are not

legitimate (Domhoff, P. 297). This shows the power challenge and creates a desire to understand

more about power and the State's legitimacy in exerting it.

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This paper will focus on answering the research questions above through a detailed paper

that will open with an introduction, discuss the power and legitimacy of a state in exerting

power, and define how the State exerts power. The study will use the US State and Political

Power case study to complete the assignment.

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Bibliography

Domhoff, G. William. "Who Rules America?." In Social Stratification, pp. 297-302. Routledge,

2018.

Franck, Thomas M. "Legitimacy in the international system." In The Nature of International

Law, pp. 217-272. Routledge, 2017.

Kim, Myunghee, and Jonathan O. Knuckey. "Trump and US soft power." In The Trump

Administration, pp. 257-273. Routledge, 2022.