When does a certain government begin to lose its legitimacy? It happens at the exact moment when the government itself does not abide by the rules of the system. When it starts to deceive and not take into consideration the interests of many of its citizens; when a certain group of citizens is treated in one way, and another group of citizens are treated in a different way. Eventually, such a behavior will create deep crisis in the society, caused by the unstable legal, economic and moral foundations.
In order to misrepresent itself, the government uses indoctrination, often by controlling the mass media, which are used as means for spreading political propaganda. The media are used to prepare and “train” the citizens to accept that which is presented, without additional contemplation. The goal of broadcasting programs used for brainwashing, intimidation, strengthening of stereotypes, is quite simple: creation of mass apologetic obedience, which in turn will make the citizens indifferent and politically passive. Exactly these types of citizens are an easy prey for the ideologies and regimes, which distort the political life on differentiating between friends and enemies.
When a certain government loses all of its legal, moral and economic grounds for justifying its legitimacy, then nationalism becomes the strongest, unifying and stabilizing force in the society, but only as a means to justify that government.