Explanation
Legitimation refers to the social process through which power, norms, laws, or institutions are justified and accepted as rightful by members of a society. Sociologists study how states, organizations, and social groups use narratives, traditions, laws, and cultural symbols to secure consent and maintain order. Without legitimacy, systems of authority often face resistance or collapse. Max Weber famously distinguished between types of legitimate authority (traditional, charismatic, legal-rational).