Authors: Hermet, Badie, Birnbaum & Braud
Summary: In about 175 words, the entry underlines that, by contrast to the concept of authoritarianism, authority has a positive connotation. It represents the acknowledgement of a certain superiority (competence) to the one who is entitled. Authority is given to a leader or an institution when they pursue collective targets of political nature. The entry's author distinguishes between a de jure (legal) authority from a de facto (actual) authority in relation to the possibility it could be, on one hand, eroded, even if legitimate, by its possessors or, on the other hand, legitimated, even if arbitrary, by the authoritative behaviour of the leaders themselves.