Ethnographies of Legitimacy: Methodological and Theoretical Insights

What is it about?

Pioneered in the mid-1990s by a small group of anthropologists, the study on the complex dynamics of legitimacy and legitimation—of ordinary people’s morality and actions, of the law, of politics and governance—has grown into a sophisticated debate that eschews confusion between law and legitimacy. In the face of the growing gap between the rulers and the ruled, this chapter introduces a coherent collective effort by anthropologists and qualitative sociologists to demonstrate the epistemological significance of ethnographic knowledge gained, classically, through long-term field research to our understanding of grassroots processes of legitimacy. As a whole, this endeavour aims to chart new theoretical directions on ‘legitimacy and urban governance’ as a locus of ethnographic research that matters to our urban futures.

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