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 - 2016/8/11

Y1 - 2016/8/11

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

VL - 22

SP - 454

EP - 469

JO - Swiss Political Science Review

JF - Swiss Political Science Review

SN - 1662-6370

IS - 4

ER -