Legitimacy of Law-Enforcement Authorities and Deeply Embedded Worldviews

• In Event: Contemplating the Meaning and Basis of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy

Abstract

It is well-established that compliance with law-enforcement authorities is shaped by people’s perceptions of whether these authorities are legitimate. But what determines legitimacy? The current research adds a substantive layer to our understanding of the antecedents of legitimacy in this context. While most previous studies focus on performance and procedural justice, we propose that beliefs about the legitimacy of law-enforcement authorities also derive from core normative values (i.e., notions of the good and virtuous life) that stem from deeply embedded cultural orientations through which individuals operate in and interpret the world. The basic premises of our theoretical model, a typology of four deeply embedded value-laden worldviews that we term theologies, were empirically tested among 52,253 individuals from 27 countries who participated in the European Social Survey, using multiple correspondence analysis. The findings provide preliminary support for our model and indicate that legitimacy perceptions are associated with core values and worldviews.

Authors

• Roni Factor, The Hebrew University

• Yoav Mehozay, University of Haifa, Israel