Balancing civil liberties with security is a complicated, difficult gymnastic act which defies the easy, pat answers typically served up by an hour of episodic television.

—Ronald D. Moore (http://blog.scifi.com/battlestar/archives/2005/04/#a000024)

“Is this a chain of command, or a chain of credulity?” “There’s a difference?”

—Lois Mcmaster bujold, The Vor Game

At the beginning of battlestar galactica, all but 50,000 members of the human race have been wiped out by a sneak attack from the Cylons, machines the humans created. Among the survivors are: William Adama, the commander of an old battleship, the Galactica, and the Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin. When it is realized that no other battleships survived the attack, Commander Adama becomes the head of the military. And when it is realized that the forty-two government officials ahead of her in the line of succession to the presidency have died, Secretary Roslin becomes President Roslin. Adama and Roslin assume that the philosophy of an established chain of command will be accepted by the people. Thus, if the people do not believe in that philosophy, the authority of Adama and Roslin will not be considered legitimate.

Authority is legitimized in the Battlestar Galactica universe in a variety of ways, reflecting the complexity of the series itself. Among the justifications offered by those in authority (or those bestowing authority on others, a form of authority in itself) are military necessities (in a time of war), ideals of democracy (including the rule of law), and the guidelines  …