Heterogeneity is slightly difference and refers to the number of distinct parts or components within a society. States are internally differentiated. That implies a measure of inequality and heterogeneity. Power to control or exercise authority over the difference segments within states is crucial. Institutionalized authority will go to great ends to constantly reinforce legitimacy.
Legitimacy is the belief of the populace and the elites that rule is proper and valid.
The support that members of a society are willing to give to a political system is essential to its survival. It is significant to think that coercion is both costly and largely ineffective in the long-run as a means to maintain legitimacy. Establishing a moral validity is less costly and more effective as an approach. Ideology rather than force to maintain legitimacy is a central theme we will discuss in this course. It is important to remember that states tend to be focused on a center, which is the symbolic source of the framework of society.