n in some countries with dictators the ruler may be regarded as legitimate, if people feel he is working hard to improve their lives. In countries that were former colonies, the independence leader often has legitimacy, even though people never elected him.
However, in the modern world, democracy is the main thing that makes people regard the government as legitimate. This is a major cause of the growth in the "third wave" of democracies in the 1980s and 1990s. In countries that were former colonies, the original independence leaders got old and died, or grew so out of touch with their people that they were overthrown. The Communist governments in the former Soviet bloc were also overthrown. In many of these countries, people turned to democracy as the only legitimate kind of new government.
People were also influenced by seeing that the rich industrial countries are all democracies. After all, if it is true that democracy helps to cause economic development, that alone is enough reason for people in poor countries to favor democracy. Also, as
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