Legitimation crisis

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For the book entitled Legitimation Crisis, see Jurgen Habermas.

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In political science a legitimation crisis is said to occur when a governing structure still retains the legal authority by which to govern, but is not able to demonstrate that its practical functioning fulfills the end for which it was instituted.

In addition it, more often than not, features three key facets that compose the crisis.

Policy incoherence - government employees are so busy that they don't necessarily know what they are looking at.
Institutional will is lost - employees are not careful against tainting the institution with decisions that can impact it negatively.
Loss of public confidence - the public is in the beginning stage, or sometimes past that, of losing their faith in the government to act efficiently and effectively.