Hereditary monarchy, often backed by divine authority, has worked in the past. And some modern autocrats, such as Robert Mugabe, have been bolstered by their credentials as national freedom fighters.
若失去了合法性，任何政府都无法自信地施行统治。为政治制度赋予合法性的方式多种多样：自由民主制只是近来的一种创新而已；通常由君权神授为依托的世袭君主制，曾在历史上大行其道；而某些现代的独裁者（如罗伯特·穆加贝），则是以民族解放斗士这一资历作为其统治的依据。