Meaning of Authority :

In modern politics, the concept of authority has special importance. Authority is such a virtue of an individual, organisation, rule or order due to which it is obeyed or voluntarily followed. In fact, validity joins power then the combination of these two things is called Authority. The word ‘Authority’ has been derived from Latin word ‘Auctoritas’ which means “to promote”. 

Different scholars have defined the authority as following :

According to Biersted : “Authority is an institutionalized right to exercise power.” 

According to Henri Fayoi : “Authority is the right to give orders and the power to obey them.” 

According to Peterson : “Authority is the right to give order and to order to obey them.”

Different Forms of Authority :

• Traditional Authority.: This authority is based on tradition.

For example, authority of senior most person of a house.

• Charismatic Authority : This authority is based on the personality, qualities of a person. It is based on emotions.

For example, authority of Indira Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi, etc. 

• Legal and Rational Authority : The base of this authority is post. The person who achieves a post, and who is in power by law, uses the authority. For example, authority of Prime-Minister or a Collector.

Why do we follow the Authority :

We follow authority due to the following reasons :

• Belief : The most important element of governance is the trust of the subordinates for the rulers. The deeper the faith is, the command of the rulers will be easier, and for this, it will not require the use of power.
• Uniformity : The uniformity of thoughts and ideals is an important basis of authority. 
• Public welfare : Public welfare is also an important base of authority. We do not follow most of the laws of the state under the influence of penal powers but we follow them because they promote the interest of the people, such as to follow traffic rules etc.
• Pressure : Many times pressure and power have to be exercised for the sake of authority. There are some people in every system who understand the language of oppression and pressure.