political-legitimacy-problem
/pəˈlɪt.ɪ.kəl ˌlɛdʒ.ɪˈtɪ.mə.si ˈprɒb.ləm/ IELTSAcademic
noun
A situation where people do not see a government, leader, or system as rightful or acceptable. It means the power looks weak, unfair, or not backed by public trust.
- The new government faced a political legitimacy problem.
- Public protests made the legitimacy problem worse.
- The court tried to solve the legitimacy problem.
Adinary Nuance
This phrase is more specific than "crisis" or "instability". A legitimacy problem is about whether people accept power as rightful, not just whether the system is unstable. Writers use it when the main issue is trust, consent, or moral authority. It is common in academic and news writing.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- vấn đề chính danh
- Spanish
- problema de legitimidad política
- Chinese
- 政治合法性问题
- Japanese
- 政治的正統性の問題
- Korean
- 정치적 정당성 문제
Etymology
This is a modern compound phrase built from political, legitimacy, and problem. It is used in political writing and social science, especially in the late 20th century and after.
Common phrases
a legitimacy problempolitical legitimacycrisis of legitimacy
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is political legitimacy problem formal English?
- Yes. It is formal and common in political science, news writing, and academic essays.
- What is the difference between legitimacy problem and instability?
- Instability means a system is shaky or unsafe. Legitimacy problem means people do not accept its right to rule.
- Can I use this phrase in IELTS Writing?
- Yes. It fits well in academic topics about government, society, and public trust.