Autoriteti

Autoriteti, literally “the authority,” is a term used to denote the legitimate capacity to influence or control the behavior of others within political, legal, or organizational contexts. Etymologically, it derives from Latin auctoritas, passing through European languages such as Italian autorità and French autorité. In scholarly and policy discourse, authority is understood as the socially recognized right to command or determine standards, not merely coercive power.

In political science and sociology, authority is distinguished from power by its basis in legitimacy. People comply not only out of fear of sanctions but because they accept the right of the actor to demand compliance. Max Weber identified three ideal types of authority: traditional authority, rooted in established customs; charismatic authority, based on the leader’s personality; and legal-rational authority, grounded in formal rules and institutions. These typologies help explain how authorities gain and maintain compliance across different societies and eras.

Institutions that exercise authority include government ministries, regulatory agencies, courts, police, and international organizations. The term can refer to a specific body or to the broader concept of authority within a system. Authority is often exercised through delegated powers, formal procedures, and established norms, with legitimacy reinforced by transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law.

Challenges to authority arise from questions of legitimacy, abuses of power, or competing claims to authority. In Albanian discourse, autoriteti is frequently encountered in terms such as autoriteti qendror or autoritetet publike, especially in regulatory and administrative contexts, where authority is defined by statute and subject to oversight.