Trusting Authorities: Legitimacy, Trust, and Collaboration in Non-Democratic Regimes

Is legitimacy and cooperation only possible in democracies, and can contemporary democracies only generate legitimacy and cooperation? Certainly not, given the quite remarkable strength, stability and survival of non-democratic regimes, even during the third ‘wave of democracy’ since the end of the last century. As non-democratic regimes become powerful global actors and models, questions arise as to the mechanisms through which they can muster legitimacy and collaboration among their citizenry. However, contemporary conceptualisations and theorising seem to privilege democracy as regime type which is most successful in generating legitimacy and collaboration among its citizens. This chapter explores the processes and mechanism through which non-democratic regimes ensure legitimacy and collaboration. The exploration and analysis will be based on historical examples and contemporary comparative data on trust, legitimacy and collaboration.