Power becomes authority when people accept it as rightful. Authority is the recognized capacity to make binding decisions and issue commands that others feel obliged to obey.

Max Weber distinguished traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational forms of authority. Modern states rely heavily on the legal-rational type: officeholders derive their right to command from rules and procedures rather than personal prestige or inherited status. Elections, constitutions, and professional norms all contribute to this legitimacy.

Authority can erode when officeholders appear corrupt, incompetent, or unresponsive. It can also be contested by rival claimants, social movements, or external actors. Effective governance requires more than raw power; it needs a durable sense among the governed that the rules and the rulers are entitled to their compliance.

• Legitimate power to decide and command
• Accepted as rightful by those subject to it
• Can rest on tradition, charisma, or legal rules
• Weakens when legitimacy is lost