What is legitimacy?

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The accepted right to rule — power seen as rightful, so people obey it willingly.

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Power is the ability to make others act; legitimacy is whether people accept the ruler's right to do so.

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Legality is acting within the law; legitimacy is being accepted as rightful — a legal act can still seem unjust and illegitimate.

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Power that is accepted as rightful — what legitimacy turns raw power into.

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It makes people obey willingly, so rule is stable and cheaper to maintain than rule by force alone.

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It had power (soldiers, weapons, the state) but not legitimacy — people refused to accept its right to rule, so it ruled by force.

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When the army or a group seizes power by force, as in Myanmar in 2021.

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Yes — a junta can control the state yet lack the accepted right to rule, so it must coerce rather than persuade.

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Yes — an ousted elected leader can keep the people's sense that they are the rightful ruler even out of office.

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People do not accept the ruler's right, so coercion is costly and invites resistance and collapse.

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Usually both — force can seize power short-term, but legitimacy is needed for stable, willingly-obeyed rule over the long term.