legitimator

Consequently, he has become the philosophical legitimator of the American occupation of Iraq.

Think Progress » 10,000 14,000 People Demand Chris Wallace Ask Rice About The U.S.S. Cole 2006

Consequently, he has become the philosophical legitimator of the American occupation of Iraq.

Think Progress » McCain Covers Up For Bush’s Nuclear Failures 2006

Some analysts have argued that totalitarianism requires a cult of personality around a charismatic "great leader" glorified as the legitimator of the regime.

Totalitarianism 1951

However, when the legitimator is seen as incompetent and lacking in authority, the appointee’s power and ability will be questioned Knight & Weiss, 1980.

The Bass Handbook of Leadership Bernard M. Bass 2008

However, when the legitimator is seen as incompetent and lacking in authority, the appointee’s power and ability will be questioned Knight & Weiss, 1980.

The Bass Handbook of Leadership Bernard M. Bass 2008

Imagine if we could create a culture of resistance to state power over personal life that led tens of millions of liberal heterosexuals to simply stop using the state's marriage as a legitimator, and instead had spiritual ceremonies (some based in religious communities, others based in secular spiritual communities or friendship circles that affirmed marriage, using their own criteria for who could be married.

The Only Winning Way to Fight the Ban on Gay Marriage 2006

1 That one of the sources of Barack Obama's appeal becomes a norm: that a man of his background has been able to symbolise the spirit of rationalism, which since the French revolution is the main legitimator of public life.

open Democracy News Analysis - Comments 2009