ABSTRACT
The measure of success for any ruling party is the extent to which it secures the willing obedience of the people it governs. Although obedience can be achieved by resorting to military force or other forms of coercion (e.g. police surveillance or terror), a regime which relies on force alone cannot always be assured of its continued incumbency and may be susceptible to mass public uprisings or challenges from within the political (or military) establishment. Relying exclusively on coercion can also be expensive, as successive administrations in the former Soviet Union discovered. Instead, if a regime wishes to enhance its prospects of staying in power indefinitely, it invariably needs the support of the people it rules; in other words it must be perceived by the populace as legitimate. As Rigby explains:
The expectation of political authorities that people will comply with their demands is typically based not only on such considerations as the latter’s fear of punishment, hope of reward, habit or apathy, but also on the notion that they have the right to make such demands [my emphasis].
