APower of Politics: Meaning,Types and Sources of PowerDVERTISEMENTS:Power of Politics: Meaning, Types and Sources of Power!Meaning:The focal point of the study of political institutions is power and itsuses. Although we think of the concept of power as being associatedparticularly with politics or so as to say political science, but it is, infact, exists in all types of social relationships. For Foucault (1969),‘power relationships are present in all aspects of society.They go right down into the depths of society…. They are not localizedin the relations between the state, and its citizens, or on the frontiersbetween classes’. All social actions involve power relationshipswhether it may be between employer and employee or between hus-band and wife (in patriarchal society). Thus, it is of fundamentalimportance for the sociology to study in its manifold ramifications.ADVERTISEMENTS:Sociologists are concerned with social interactions among individualsand groups and more specifically, how individuals and groups achievetheir ends as against those of others. In their study they take note ofpower as an important element that influences social behaviour. Soci-ologists are today concerned to analyse the diverse nature of power8 mins read
and that complexities it creates in human relationships, especiallybetween state and society.In the very simple language, power is the ability to get one’s way—even if it is based on bluff. It is the ability to exercise one’s will overothers or, in other words, power is the ability of individuals or groupsto make their own interests or concerns count, even when othersresist.It sometimes involves the direct use of force. Force is the actual orthreatened use of coercion to impose one’s will on others. When afather slaps the child to prohibit certain acts, he is applying force.Some scholars have defined it that it necessarily involves overcominganother’s will.To summarize, it may be said that ‘power is the ability of groups orindividuals to assert themselves—sometimes, but not always—inopposition to the desires of others’. Many decisions are made withoutopposition because of the great power decision-makers wield.ADVERTISEMENTS:According to Max Weber (1947), power is ‘the probability that oneactor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out hisown will despite resistance, regardless of the basis on which thisprobability rests’.He further writes, positions of power can ’emerge from social rela-tions in drawing room as well as in the market, from the rostrum oflecture hall as well as the command post of a regiment, from an eroticor charitable relationship as well as from scholarly discussion or ath-letics’. It plays a part in family (husband and wife) and school(teacher and the taught) relationship also.
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1 Chapter 17 Government and Politics
2 Politics and Government Power Power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others. To put it another way, whoever can control the behaviour of others is exercising power. Power relations can involve large organisations, small groups, or even people in an intimate association. force, influence, and authority.There are three basic sources of power within any political system– force, influence, and authority.
3 Force Force is the actual or threatened use of coercion to impose one’s will on others. When leaders imprison or even execute political dissidents, they are applying force, so too are terrorists. Influence Influence refers to the exercise of power through a process of persuasion. A citizen may change his or her position regarding a Supreme Court nominee because of a newspaper editorial, the expert testimony of a law school dean before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
4 Type of Authority authorityThe term authority refers to power that has been institutionalised and is recognised by the people over whom it is exercised. Sociologists commonly use the term in connection with those who hold legitimate power through elected or publicly acknowledged positions. Traditional authority ( 傳統權威 ) Traditional authority ( 傳統權威 ) : legitimate power is conferred by custom and accepted practice. A king or queen is accepted as ruler of a nation simply by virtue of inheriting the crown; a tribal chief rules because that is the accepted practice. For the traditional leader, authority rests in custom, not in personal characteristics, technical competence, or even written law.
5 Legal-rational authority ( 法理權威 ) Legal-rational authority ( 法理權威 ) : power made legitimate by law. Leaders derive their legal-rational authority from the written rules and regulations of political systems, such as a constitution. (e.g., US Constitution gives Congress and president the authority to make and enforce laws and policies) Charismatic authority ( 魅力權威 ) Charismatic authority ( 魅力權威 ) : power can be legitimised by the charisma of an individual. The term refers to power made legitimate by a leader’s exceptional personal or emotional appeal to his or her followers. Charisma lets a person lead or inspire without relying on set rules or traditions.
6 Political socialisation Political socialisation : the process by which you acquire political attitudes and develop patterns of political behaviour. Women in Politics : women continue to be dramatically underrepresented in the halls of government. Sexism has been the most serious barrier to women interested in holding office. Women were not even allowed to vote in national elections until 1920, and subsequent female candidates have had to overcome the prejudices of both men and women regarding women’s fitness for leadership.
7 Interest groups ( 利益團體 ) Interest groups ( 利益團體 ) : is a voluntary association of citizens who attempt to influence public policy. The National Organisation for Women is considered an interest group, so too are the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the National Rifle Association. lobbies Many interest groups (often known as lobbies ) are national in scope and address a wide array of social, economic, and political issues.
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9 Models of Power Structure Power elite ( 權力精英 ) model: power rested in the hands of a few, both inside and outside government (Mills’s Model vs. Domhoff’s Model) Pluralist Model: many conflicting groups within the community have access to government, so that no single group is dominant.
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