Unlock Elite Access: Level Up Your Preparation with Exclusive Content

PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions · Model answer

Explain the relationship between power, authority and legitimacy.

  • UPSC 2018
  • 15 marks
  • Concept of Power, Hegemony, Ideology and Legitimacy

Unlock the full answer · ₹1,770 ↓

Harold D. Lasswell and Abraham Kaplan (Power and Society, 1950) called political science the study of the shaping and sharing of power. The three concepts explain how power becomes rightful, as a chain with a direction: power + legitimacy = authority. Run the chain backwards and authority decays into bare power.

You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions.

What the full answer covers

  • The Three Terms
  • How the Chain Works
  • A Critical Note
  • Conclusion
PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions

Unlock this answer and 1,393 more

  • 1,394 solved UPSC PSIR PYQs from 1991 to 2026, Paper-1 and Paper-2
  • Topic-wise across all 40 syllabus units
  • A full model answer for every question
  • Read online on lotusarise.com, plus PDF download
  • 500 days of access from the day you enrol

₹1,770₹5,00064% off

Get PSIR Optional PYQ Solutions @ ₹1,770 →

One-time payment · No subscription · Instant access · UPI, cards, RuPay

See every Concept of Power, Hegemony, Ideology and Legitimacy question (36 solved) →Already enrolled? Log in