Legitimacy

Legitimacy is how far a country's political order is accepted as rightful: whether its people, its institutions and its own army regard the government as entitled to rule. It is shown as a percentage from 0% to 100%. Where Stability measures how well the order holds, legitimacy measures whether it deserves to, and in a crisis legitimacy is what keeps a government standing.

How legitimacy is set

Like stability, legitimacy has a stored level that moves each month (Legitimacy (Monthly)), plus standing bonuses and penalties (Legitimacy) from the laws and modifiers in force. Countries start the 1946 campaign at 60% unless their history sets another figure.

Laws

Open, accountable institutions build legitimacy. Coercive and closed ones spend it:

Events in the life of a government

• Martial law costs 10% while it is unjustified, meaning declared without real unrest, and 5% once it becomes prolonged after six months (see Policies).
• A successful coup costs the country 20% legitimacy.
• Winning early elections during a power struggle restores legitimacy to at least 60% (see Elections).
• Completing an agenda adds legitimacy, and failing one can cost it (see National Agendas).
• International organizations such as the United Nations grant a little legitimacy to their members.
• Faction traits play a part. A Corrupt faction in government costs legitimacy and slowly erodes it from opposition. An armed forces faction in government costs a little. A Disgraced army costs legitimacy while it governs or supports the government.

After a seizure of power, the new regime's type sets how quickly legitimacy comes. A Provisional Government gains it steadily. A Military Junta gains it slowly (see Coups and Power Struggles).

What legitimacy does

Defending against coups

In a coup plot, the government's weakness is the lower of its legitimacy and its popular support, and that weakness speeds the plot along. When the plot strikes, the government's legitimacy and support count toward its defense, although for far less than the army. Above all, a professional army under civilian control defends a legitimate government and only follows its own preferences as legitimacy fails. Foreign powers also tend to back coups against governments with low legitimacy.

Keeping crises in check

A power struggle breaks out when a government loses its grip, meaning the lower of its legitimacy and popular support falls very low. Once a struggle is under way, illegitimacy drives its tension up. Every point of legitimacy above 50% pulls tension down faster, so a legitimate government shaken by unrest gets time to recover (see Flashpoints and Crises).

Uprisings

Another country can only incite an uprising behind a faction it backs when the target government's legitimacy is below 40% (see Faction Actions).

Ruling by force

When Stability runs ahead of legitimacy, the gap breeds Unrest every month unless the state represses through Secret Police, Mass Surveillance or Martial Law. An illegitimate government can survive, but only by keeping a heavy hand on the country.

The armed forces

Legitimacy is one of the things that keeps the military behind the government, together with military spending and Military Control. Military backing in turn decides whether you can put down unrest by force or declare martial law at all.

Party strength

A party's national appeal in each province is scaled by factors that include the country's legitimacy, so a discredited order weakens the parties that stand for it.