Non-coercive legitimacy: rationality and trust as foundations of the modern state

Abstract

This article presents a conceptual analysis of the legitimacy of the modern state, focusing on its transformation from an authority based on coercion to an inclusive institution founded on trust and normative order. The historical development of statehood is examined, beginning with absolutist monarchies and the Westphalian system that laid the foundation for state sovereignty, and leading up to the contemporary democratic state, which operates on the principles of equality, rationality, and legal predictability. Particular attention is given to the phenomenon of normativity, which emerged from profound changes in public consciousness and behavior, and became a key factor in the establishment of the modern state. This process is characterized by the gradual secularization, rationalization, and universa-lization of moral norms in accordance with the principle of equality before the law. As a result, the modern state appears not as a personalized power but as a set of institutions regulating social relations on the basis of formally defined and universally binding norms. The article critically reinterprets Max Weber’s concept of the state as a monopoly on legitimate violence, emphasizing the shift in mechanisms of political legitimation – from fear and coercion to trust in public institutions. It is argued that the stability of the modern state is ensured not only through imperative legal norms but also through communicative mechanisms that foster society’s awareness of its role in political processes. The significance of the state as an inclusive institution is also highlighted – that is, a system of procedures and norms enabling political self-organization and participation in collective decision-making. The article concludes that the level of public trust in state mechanisms is a key indicator of their legitimacy, and that a strategy for maintaining this trust must include the development of civil society, deliberative politics, and the expansion of communicative practices between the state and society.