Rhetorical message producers always seek to achieve consensus and social legitimation for the reality they speak, thus having the possibility of negotiation always available.
Sociologists of punishment usually examine state-sanctioned acts in relation to law-breaking; why, for instance, citizens give consent to the legitimation of acts of violence.
An audience-based theory of legitimation posits that various social audiences develop expectations about what organizations can or should do and accordingly evaluate organizational action.
