Was George W. Bush the legitimately elected President of the United States in his first term, having gained office only after America’s Supreme Court ordered an end to the Florida recount and with Bush having secured only a minority of the votes nationwide? Are the presidents of some former Soviet republics who seem to command 90% of the popular vote legitimately elected?
合法性是稳定的民主政治很微妙而且绝对重要的一个特征，同时它也很复杂。就在美国最高法院宣布结束佛州重新计票工作，布什只保住了全国的少数选票便就职的情况下，第一任期的乔治·W·布什能说是合法当选的美国总统吗？一些似乎博得了90％多数票的前苏维埃共和国的总统们都是合法当选的吗？正在运筹之中的伊拉克大选在内部和外部程序上都将具有合法性吗？