What isauthority and how is it related to domination and the law?

Authority,according to Max Weber, is the power which is legitimate, justifiedand proper. It is generally derived from the official position of aperson and the powers are specified on written documents. Othermembers of a society implicitly agree to follow the authority. Forexample, the authority of police or a judge.

A law isan explicitly codified norm or rule and usually exists in a writtenform. Authority is related to law and domination as the differencebetween the strict authority, which is explicitly codified, and theinformal authority, lies in the notion of law.

In amodern democratic state, the laws are created by legislature. Theyact as a binding force on citizens and, hence, dominate them. Thisdomination works through legitimate power or authority, a large partof which is codified in the law. It requires consent and cooperationon a regular basis to maintain legitimacy.