1. Max Weber identified three types of authority: traditional authority which is based on long-established customs, charismatic authority which stems from a leader's extraordinary qualities, and legal-rational authority which is legitimized by written rules and laws.
2. Political organizations have evolved from bands and tribes dominated by personal ties, to chiefdoms led by patriarchal leaders, and modern nation-states with bureaucratic institutions.
3. Of the three types of authority, legal-rational authority has the highest degree of stability according to Weber since it is grounded in established legal procedures.