‘Legitimacy is the Main Objective’: Legitimation in Population-Centric Counterinsurgency

Martijn Kitzen

Small Wars and Insurgencies, 2017, vol. 28, issue 4-5, 853-866

Abstract: This article seeks to contribute to the understanding of the role of legitimacy and different forms of legitimation in population-centric counterinsurgency. An analysis of the logic underlying this counterinsurgency concept sheds a light on the former as it identifies legitimacy as the crucial mechanism through which a collaboration strategy seeks to obtain control over the local population. An exploration of Weber’s primary types of legitimate authorities provides the insight that counterinsurgents might operationalize legitimation through either rational-legal ways or by co-opting local power-holders who hold a position as traditional or charismatic leaders. The exact choice of strategy depends on the pattern of legitimacy in the target society and therefore so-called cultural legitimation is pivotal.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2017.1322331

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