Legitimation and delegitimation of state authority as a political process

The paper deals with the problems of legitimacy, the concept and definition of legitimation and delegitimization as a political process. In its most general form, legitimacy is characterized as the belief of the subjects in the significance of authority, and only by virtue of this belief does domination authority significance. The process of legitimacy formation in science is defined as legitimation. Generally, legitimization is understood as a procedure of public recognition or confirmation of the legality of any rights, powers, as well as the recognition of the legality of the existing dominant political and legal relations, the regime of power. Legitimation is a kind of political process. Accordingly, it is possible to distinguish the political space of legitimation, its object (purpose), subjects, resources of subjects, content and factors influencing the course and result of this process. Delegitimization, as a political process, has a similar structure. Its distinctive features are the object (purpose) and content, the opposite of legitimation.