Locus of Legitimacy
In making the comparison I am working though an argument for a idea I call the "locus of legitimacy". The locus of legitimacy, or lol if you prefer, is what concept a population sees the source of legitimacy. There are only two; the collective or communal group and the individual citizen. A government like a monarchy or other autocracy would have a communal locus of legitimacy where the people subordinate their individual wants and desires to the wants and desires of the entire group. Naked nationalism would be a good example of communal locus of legitimacy. The individual locus of legitimacy is demonstrated in real, functioning democracies and republics.
As societies prosper they transition from communal to individual, but this is not an easy process. It strikes at the heart of the values of what a society sees as right and wrong. Therefore the period of transition is filled with instability. Thailand today would be such a society. I would argue that this transition is just beginning in the Arab world. If so, and if European history is any indication of how this is likely to proceed, it is going to be a rough ride.
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