Editing Authority (section)

== History ==
[[Ancient history|Ancient]] understandings of authority trace back to [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] and draw later from Catholic ([[Thomism|Thomistic]]) thought and other [[tradition]]al understandings. In more modern terms, forms of authority include transitional authority (exhibited in, for example, [[Cambodia]]),<ref>{{Cite news|title=United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)|last=Widyono|first=Benny|date=Oct 2014}}</ref> public authority in the form of popular power, and, in more administrative terms, bureaucratic or managerial techniques. In terms of bureaucratic governance, one limitation of the governmental agents of the executive branch, as outlined by George A. Krause, is that they are not as close to the popular will as [[Representative democracy|elected representatives]] are.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Legislative Delegation of Authority to Bureaucratic Agencies|last=Krause|first=George A.|date=2010|work=The Oxford Handbook of American Bureaucracy|publisher=Oxford University Press|editor-last=Durant|editor-first=Robert F.|location=New York|page=524}}</ref> The claims of authority can extend to national or individual [[sovereignty]], which is broadly or provisionally understood as a claim to political authority that is [[Legitimation|legitimated]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sovereignty|last=Glanville|first=Luke|work=The Oxford Handbook of the Responsibility to Protect|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2016|editor-last=Bellamy|editor-first=Alex J.|location=New York|page=153}}</ref>

Historical applications of authority in political terms include the formation of the city-state of [[Geneva]], and experimental treatises involving the topic of authority in relation to education include ''[[Emile, or On Education]]'' by [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]. As [[David D. Laitin|David Laitin]] defines, authority is a key concept to be defined in determining the range and role of political theory, science and inquiry.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Laitin|first=David|date=1998|title=Toward a Political Science Discipline: Authority Patterns Revisited|journal=Comparative Political Studies|volume=31|issue=4|pages=423–443|doi=10.1177/0010414098031004002|s2cid=146736449}}</ref> The relevance of a grounded understanding of authority includes the basic foundation and formation of political, civil and/or ecclesiastical institutions or representatives. In recent years, however, authority in political contexts has been challenged or questioned.