The Concept of Legitimacy in International Relations Theories of Great Power Politics: A Narrative Literature Review and the Chinese Case

The concept of legitimacy is not at the core analysis of international relations theories of great power politics. While most traditional great power studies focus on materialistic capabilities to assess a country’s power, there is a growing literature on how the concept of legitimacy could improve the evaluation of great power politics. This research reviews and synthesizes the main theories of great powers’ rise and falls under the concept of legitimacy, while mapping and understanding how the international relations field of studies apply it. In addition, it also presents an application of the legitimacy concept in a current scenario: the Chinese rise as a great power in the 21st century. The article proposes an interplay between more socially constructed theories that value ideational variables and more rationalist theories that value material capabilities to discuss current great power politics dynamics.