Rational Legal Authority

Abstract

Rational legal authority is a concept developed by Max Weber (1864–1920) to explain the stability of domination in modern times, especially in bureaucracies and democracies. A ruler is or has rational legal authority when she is perceived as legitimate by her subjects on the grounds that she has been given rights to issue commands by formal rules or laws. This entry defines the concept in relation to Weber's more general understanding of domination and other types of legitimate domination, explains the usefulness of the concept from a Weberian perspective, and presents some of the main criticisms of the concept.

The Impact of Authority, Power, Trust and Conflict on Organizational Performance. (c2022)

“…The third type of authority provided by Weber (1922; is one that relies on the obedience of a ruler or a leader by a certain formal rule or law, hence, the name "legal or rational". As stated by Guzmán (2007), one major difference between this type of authority and the former two lies in the impersonal quality of this authority; it doesn't rely on a certain person or persona but rather on a particular law or order.…”