Political Legitimacy vs Coercive Power: Why People Obey

Seen in: USSR Collapse

Legitimacy vs Coercion

What this model means

This model says people obey authority for two main reasons:

  • Political legitimacy: “This rule feels fair and proper. I should follow it.”
  • Coercive power: “If I break it, something bad and predictable happens.”

Political legitimacy means power that people accept as rightful. Coercive power means power backed by punishment. Every real system blends both: even the nicest democracy still has courts, fines, and prisons. The trick is limited, predictable fear instead of wild terror.

Why it matters

Systems that rely only on fear can rule, but they’re expensive and paranoid. Systems that rely only on goodwill are fantasy; eventually someone has to enforce something.

Healthy regimes, companies, and families do this: legitimacy carries most of the load, coercion lives in the background as a clear, bounded “or else.”

Examples

1. Traffic laws in a decent democracy

You mostly obey speed limits because they feel reasonable and everyone else sort of accepts them. But you also know: radar, tickets, points on your license. The fine is real, but it’s proportionate and predictable.

2. Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew (1965–1990s)

Singapore built strong political legitimacy (rising incomes, low corruption) while openly using strict laws and heavy fines—textbook coercive power. People accepted a tough rulebook because it delivered safety and prosperity. Strong coercion, but not random terror.

3. The Soviet Union’s late stage (1970s–1991)

The USSR leaned more and more on surveillance and punishment, pure coercive power, as belief in the system faded. When legitimacy drains away, states must spend exponentially more on enforcement. Once the enforcement itself slipped, the whole thing unraveled. Read more in USSR Collapse case study.

How to use it / common failure mode

If you’re in charge, design rules that feel fair and useful, and back them with clear, limited consequences. Use coercion like antibiotics: targeted, not constant.

Common failure: pretending you can run on “culture” alone, or, on the other side, thinking raw fear is “strength.” Pure legitimacy is naive; pure coercion is suicidal.

In one line: Stable power comes from people mostly believing the rules are fair, with just enough predictable fear in the background to make those rules real.

This article was produced with AI assistance and human editing. Last updated Dec 14, 2025.