Political Legitimacy and the Institutional Foundations of Constitutional Government: the Case of England

Abstract: Although the importance of political legitimacy is well recognized, the social sciences provide no conceptual framework to study its endogenous dynamics and implications. This paper develops a conceptual framework to study endogenous political legitimacy and its impact on political power, institutions, and policies. The paper builds on this framework to construct a context-specific model that facilitates a historical analysis of England's transition to a constitutional monarchy. The analysis highlights the importance of legitimacy and legitimacy-related actions in this transition. It provides a consistent and rational explanation for many historical observations that are unaccounted for by the predominant explanations for this transition.