On Financial Crises and Legitimacy: A Theoretical and Empirical Inquiry

Abstract: This is a work on how financial crises affect political legitimacy. Assuming that legitimacy exists as part of an ongoing process that depends on the evaluations of the citizens, 12 different crises and following executive elections from 6 countries are studied to understand, how legitimacy/legitimation could be affected by a financial crisis. The research is conducted in two parts: Firstly, a theoretical inquiry and secondly, analysis of the collected data on processes of crises. The effects, present themselves as results of ongoing troubles in the global markets: Financial crises, unless contained, create serious problems for the legitimacy of financial institutions and other institutions. The failure of legitimation depends on the ability of governments to govern accordingly, during times of crises.