TY - JOUR
T1 - The legitimacy of alien rulers
AU - Horne, Christine
AU - Ben-Nun Bloom, Pazit
AU - Irwin, Kyle
AU - Miodownik, Dan
AU - Hechter, Michael Norman
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - In the modern world, alien rulers are generally perceived to lack legitimacy. Political legitimacy is important because it is thought to be the principal alternative to coercive institutions. Little empirical evidence supports these claims, however. We devise a laboratory experiment that isolates alienness from other ruler characteristics. The experiment tests whether alien rulers have less legitimacy than native rulers, and whether the ability to punish compensates for this disadvantage. Using American and Israeli college student samples, we find that alien rulers receive less compliance than native rulers, and that the ability to punish does not allow alien rulers to “catch-up” with native rulers.
AB - In the modern world, alien rulers are generally perceived to lack legitimacy. Political legitimacy is important because it is thought to be the principal alternative to coercive institutions. Little empirical evidence supports these claims, however. We devise a laboratory experiment that isolates alienness from other ruler characteristics. The experiment tests whether alien rulers have less legitimacy than native rulers, and whether the ability to punish compensates for this disadvantage. Using American and Israeli college student samples, we find that alien rulers receive less compliance than native rulers, and that the ability to punish does not allow alien rulers to “catch-up” with native rulers.
U2 - 10.1111/spsr.12221
DO - 10.1111/spsr.12221
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1662-6370
VL - 22
SP - 454
EP - 469
JO - Swiss Political Science Review
JF - Swiss Political Science Review
IS - 4
ER -