Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Application of Legitimacy in Africa and Latin America

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Understanding Legitimacy in Criminal Justice

  • 217 Accesses

Abstract

Testing theory developed in one society in another society is a much-needed exercise in today’s shrinking world. This chapter summarizes the findings on legitimacy in Africa and Latin America. Situating the analysis of police legitimacy internationally, we first provide some broad description of cross-national studies on police legitimacy vis-a-vis confidence in the police and then review studies of police legitimacy vis-a-vis procedural justice done in specific nations. The main takeaway is that the police is an inseparable institution of a government that suffers from the deficits of legitimacy lack public confidence and that survey data from these societies are not very much comparable with those in more developed societies. The insufficient attention paid to methodological rigor has made the properly comparative cross-national analysis more challenging. The literature would benefit from more attention given to indigenous and/or alternative mechanisms through which policing gain their legitimacy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aas, K. F. (2012). The earth is one but the world is not: Criminological theory and its geographical divisions. Theoretical Criminology, 16(1), 5–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akinlabi, O. M. (2020). Citizens’ accounts of police use of force and its implication for trust in the police. Journal of Crime and Justice, 43(2), 145–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akinlabi, O. M., & Murphy, K. (2018). Dull compulsion or perceived legitimacy? Assessing why people comply with the law in Nigeria. Police Practice and Research, 19(2), 186–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ariel, B., Mitchell, R. J., Tankebe, J., Firpo, M. E., Fraiman, R., & Hyatt, J. M. (2020). Using wearable technology to increase police legitimacy in Uruguay. Law & Social Inquiry, 45(1), 52–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, H. S. (1967). Whose side are we on? Social Problems, 14(3), 239–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bello, P. O., & John-Langba, J. (2020). University students and police legitimacy: The South African Police Service before the loudspeaker. International Journal of Business and Management Studies, 12(2), 306–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, F. D. (2018a). Police legitimacyin Africa: A multilevel multinational analysis. Policing and Society, 28(9), 1105–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, F. D. (2018b). Institutional trust and performance: A study of the police in Ghana. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 51(2), 164–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, F. D. (2020). Perceived police fairness. Policing and Society, 30(9), 985–997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, F. D., & Lee, J. Y. (2018). Apartheid and post-apartheid analysis of public confidence in the police. Policing: An International Journal, 41(6), 766–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boateng, F. D., Pryce, D. K., & Abess, G. (2022). Legitimacy and cooperation with the police: Examining empirical relationship using data from Africa. Policing and Society, 32(3), 411–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, B., Huq, A., Jackson, J., & Roberts, B. (2014). What price fairness when security is at stake? Police legitimacy in South Africa. Regulation & Governance, 8(2), 246–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L. (2004). Major criminological theories: Concepts and measurement. Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L. (2022). Police legitimacy in ethnic-racially and economically stratified democracies. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 64(3), 6–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., & Dai, D. (2006). Confidence in the police: Where does Taiwan rank in the world? Asian Journal of Criminology, 1, 71–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., & Zhang, Y. (2017). Governance and regional variation of homicide rates: Evidence from cross-national data. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61(1), 25–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., & Zhao, J. (2005). Confidence in the police in Latin America. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(5), 403–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., Lai, Y. L., & Zhao, R. (2012). Shades of blue: Confidence in the police in the world. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(1), 40–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., Zhao, J., Ren, L., & Zhao, R. (2015). Do in-group and out-group trusts matter in predicting confidence in order institutions: A study of three culturally distinctive countries. International Sociology, 30, 674–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carrington, K., Hogg, R., & Sozzo, M. (2016). Southern criminology. British Journal of Criminology, 56(1), 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, A., & Ansari, S. (2017). Contextual “readiness” for institutional work: A study of the fight against corruption in Brazil. Journal of Management Inquiry, 26(4), 351–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. (2007). Popular justice in the New South Africa: Policing the boundaries of freedom. In T. R. Tyler (Ed.), Legitimacy and criminal justice: International perspectives (pp. 215–237). Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen, F. T. (1994). Social support as an organizing concept for criminology: Presidential address to the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Justice Quarterly, 11(4), 527–559.

    Google Scholar 

  • da Silva, E. M., & Bernard, E. (2016). Inefficiency in the fight against wildlife crime in Brazil. Oryx, 50(3), 468–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • da Silva, G. M. D., & Cano, I. (2007). Between damage reduction and community policing: The case of Pavao-Pavaozinho-Cantagalo in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. In T. R. Tyler (Ed.), Legitimacy and criminal justice: International perspectives (pp. 186–214). Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. (2015). Cross-national comparative research on criminal careers, risk factors, crime and punishment. European Journal of Criminology, 12, 386–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D., Cohn, E. G., & Skinner, G. C. M. (2022). Changes in the most cited scholars in the five international journals between 2006 and 2020. Asian Journal of Criminology, 17(2), 193–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fruhling, H. (2007). Police legitimacy in Chile. In T. R. Tyler (Ed.), Legitimacy and criminal justice: International perspectives (pp. 115–145). Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, L., & Pryce, D. K. (2020). Procedural justice, obligation to obey, and cooperation with police in a sample of Jamaican citizens. Police Practice and Research, 21(4), 368–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey, D. (2000). Cosmopolitanism and the banality of geographical evils. Public Culture, 12(2), 529–564.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hornberger, J. (2013). From general to commissioner to general – On the popular state of policing in South Africa. Law & Social Inquiry, 38(3), 598–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R., & Baker, W. E. (2000). Modernization, cultural change, and the persistence of traditional values. American Sociological Review, 65(2), 19–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inglehart, R., et al. (2000). World values surveys and European values surveys, 1981-1984, 1990-1993, and 1995-1991 (ICPSR version). Institute for Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, J., Pósch, K., Oliveira, T. R., Bradford, B., Mendes, S. M., Natal, A. L., & Zanetic, A. (2022). Fear and legitimacy in São Paulo, Brazil: Police-citizen relations in a high violence, high fear city. Law and Society Review, 56(1), 122–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. L. (2007). When the poor police themselves: Public insecurity and extralegal criminal justice administration in Mexico. In T. R. Tyler (Ed.), Legitimacy and criminal justice: International perspectives (pp. 167–185). Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D., Maguire, E., & Kuhns, J. (2014). Public perceptions of the legitimacy of the law and legal authorities: Evidence from the Caribbean. Law and Society Review, 48(4), 947–978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karstedt, S. (2013). Trusting authorities: Legitimacy, trust and collaboration in non-democratic regimes. In J. Tankebe & A. Liebling (Eds.), Legitimacy and criminal justice: An international exploration (pp. 127–156). Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lai, Y. L., Cao, L., & Zhao, J. S. (2010). The impact of political regime on confidence in legal authorities. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 934–941.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, J. (2009). Asian criminology – Challenges, opportunities, and directions. Asian Journal of Criminology, 4, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madeira, L. M. (2014). Institutionalisation, reform and independence of the public defender’s office in Brazil. Brazilian Political Science Review, 8(2), 48–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, E. R., & Katz, C. M. (2021). Editorial: International research collaborations in the Caribbean. Caribbean Journal of Criminology, 3(1), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manning, P. K. (2010). Democratic policing in a changing world. Paradigm.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLuhan, M. (1962). The Gutenberg galaxy: The making of typographic man. University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meško, G., & Tankebe, J. (Eds.). (2015). Trust and legitimacy in criminal justice: European perspectives. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryce, D., Johnson, D., & Maguire, E. R. (2017). Procedural justice, obligation to obey, and cooperation with police in a sample of Ghanaian immigrants. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(5), 733–755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reisig, M. D., & Lloyd, D. (2009). Procedural justice, police legitimacy, and helping the police to fight crime: Results from a survey of Jamaican adolescents. Police Quarterly, 12(1), 42–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stack, S. J., & Cao, L. (1998). Political conservatism and confidence in the police: A comparative analysis. Journal of Crime and Justice, 21(1), 71–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stack, S., Cao, L., & Adamczyk, A. (2007). Crime volume and law and order culture. Justice Quarterly, 24(2), 291–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stack, S., Adamczyk, A., & Cao, L. (2010). Survivalism and public opinion on criminality: A cross-national analysis of prostitution. Social Forces, 88(4), 1703–1726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, I. Y., Li, L., Wu, Y., & Hu, R. (2018). Police legitimacy and citizen cooperation in China: testing an alternative model. Asian Journal of Criminology, 13, 275–291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tankebe, J. (2008). Colonialism, legitimation, and policing in Ghana. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 36, 67–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tankebe, J. (2010). Public confidence in the police: Testing the effects of public experiences with police corruption in Ghana. British Journal of Criminology, 50, 296–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tankebe, J. (2013). Viewing things differently: The dimensions of public perceptions of legitimacy. Criminology, 51, 103–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tankebe, J., Reisig, M. D., & Wang, X. (2016). A multidimensional model of police legitimacy: A cross-cultural assessment. Law and Human Behavior, 40, 11–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, A. J., & Wilson, T. (2022). Procedural (in)justice as inclusivity and marginalization: Evidence from a longitudinal sample of Mexican-American adolescents. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 59(1), 44–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Transparent International. (2020). Corruption perception index. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2020

  • Tyler, T. R. (2006). Psychological perspectives on legitimacy and legitimation. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 375–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valente, R., & Vacchiano, M. (2021). Determinants of the fear of crime in Argentina and Brazil: A cross-country comparison of non-criminal and environmental factors affecting feelings of insecurity. Social Indicators Research, 154(3), 1077–1096.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welzel, C., & Inglehart, R. (2005). Liberalism, postmaterialism, and the growth of freedom. International Review of Sociology, 15(1), 81–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winterdyk, J., & Cao, L. (2004). Introduction and overview. In J. Winterdyk & L. Cao (Eds.), Lessons from international/comparative criminology/criminal justice (pp. 1–7). de Sitter Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Cao, L., & Vaughn, M. S. (2009). Social support and corruption: Structural determinants of corruption in the world. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 42(2), 204–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, J. (1996). Why police organizations change: A study of community-oriented policing. Police Executive Res Forum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, R., & Cao, L. (2010). Social change and anomie – A cross-national study. Social Forces, 88(3), 1209–1229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada

    Liqun Cao

  2. University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, USA

    Francis Boateng

Authors
  1. Liqun Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Francis Boateng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liqun Cao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, Canada

    Liqun Cao

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cao, L., Boateng, F. (2022). Application of Legitimacy in Africa and Latin America. In: Cao, L. (eds) Understanding Legitimacy in Criminal Justice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17731-6_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17731-6_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-17730-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-17731-6

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation