In government, authority's often used interchangeably with the term "power". However, their meanings differ: while "power"'s defined as 'the ability to influence somebody to do something that (s)he couldn't have done', "authority" refers to a claim of legitimacy, the justification and right to exercise that power. For example, whilst a mob has the power to punish a criminal, for example by lynching, people who believe in the rule of law consider that only a court of law to has the authority to… (More on Authorities)