Tyranny governs without any pretense to legitimacy

Evidence

Tyrants rule ruthlessly and without regard for any public norms. Jackson and Rosberg underscore the fundamental qualities of African tyrannical rulers: Tyrants have ruled without any pretense to legitimacy or authority, and tyranny is therefore conceived as fundamentally illegitimate and unjust government in violation of any norms or rules or understandings… . [I]t is a mistake to consider that Tyrants enjoy “privileges” or exercise “responsibilities” or that subjects enjoy “rights” or exercise “obligation.” — Abdi Ismail Samatar, Africa’s First Democrats, 88

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the Tyrant end of Jackson and Rosberg’s leadership spectrum against which Somali democrats are contrasted.
• XREF: connects to: Institutions can be justified without endorsement of their current form; National Socialism functioned as a non-state ruling directly without legal mediation — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1183; Legitimacy always rests on successful power, not pure rationality. — Chantal Mouffe, The Democratic Paradox, 453