Legitimate opposition as organized party rivalry is a modern nineteenth-century invention

Evidence

The practice of organized, open competition for power, which can be summarized in the phrase “the legitimate opposition,” only began in the nineteenth century. Before that, every effort to overturn the ruling group was a conspiracy, and all conspiracies were by definition seditious. The rise of regulated party rivalry and, with it, the loyal opposition—an opposition that aims to replace the ruling group but does not aim to overturn the whole regime or the constitution—might have made the very concept of political conspiracy obsolete. Why secretly conspire to overturn those in power when you can organize partisans in the open? — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 198

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘legitimate opposition’ and ‘loyal opposition’ as concepts that emerged only in the nineteenth century.