<P> Legitimation crisis refers to a decline in the confidence of administrative functions, institutions, or leadership . The term was first introduced in 1973 by Jürgen Habermas, a German sociologist and philosopher . Habermas expanded upon the concept, claiming that with a legitimation crisis, an institution or organization does not have the administrative capabilities to maintain or establish structures effective in achieving their end goals . The term itself has been generalized by other scholars to refer not only to the political realm, but to organizational and institutional structures as well . While there is not unanimity among social scientists when claiming that a legitimation crisis exists, a predominant way of measuring a legitimation crisis is to consider public attitudes toward the organization in question . </P> <P> With respect to political theory, a state is perceived as being legitimate when its citizens treat it as properly holding and exercising political power . While the term exists beyond the political realm, as it encompasses sociology, philosophy, and psychology, legitimacy is often referred to with respect to actors, institutions, and the political orders they constitute . In other words, actors, institutions, and social orders can be seen as being either legitimate or illegitimate . When political actors engage in the process of legitimation they are pursuing legitimacy for themselves or for another institution . According to Morris Zelditch, Jr., Emeritus Professor of Sociology at Stanford, theories of legitimacy span 24 centuries, beginning with Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War . </P>

South africa experienced a crisis of legitimacy because of