Elections and Government Legitimacy in Fragile States

Abstract

Within just one year, the world witnessed the collapse of elected governments in Mali, Afghanistan, and Guinea. While the power grabs by military juntas in Mali and Guinea and by the Taliban in Afghanistan caused fear among the respective populations, many citizens were also willing to acquiesce to the overtaking forces, because the deposed civilian governments were perceived as failing and corrupt. These developments highlight important lessons about government legitimacy in fragile states. There is more to government legitimacy than elections. The holding of elections alone often does not suffice to render a government legitimate in the eyes of citizens. Questionable or botched elections can do more harm than good to government legitimacy. In weak and fragile states, governments cannot rely on citizens' acceptance of state institutions to legitimate their authority. They must find alternative ways to continually legitimate their rule in the eyes of citizens. Insights from Burkina Faso suggest that government legitimacy can be improved by addressing problems of state-society relations. Even in communities that have very strained relations with the state, most citizens actually desire greater state presence and would be willing to give state institutions and security forces the benefit of the doubt - if they were perceived to be doing more to protect people's safety and livelihoods. If the conditions are right, local governments can play a crucial role in mitigating the central state's deficient capacity and legitimacy. In some areas, local governments are the most powerful and legitimate political actors in citizens' lives. In dealing with governments that are deficient in legitimacy, international actors should be guided by a careful analysis of state-society relations. Calls for rapid elections are no panacea, and elected governments should not automatically be considered legitimate representatives of society. Instead, international actors should focus on identifying and supporting societal changes that are prerequisites for more legitimate governance.