1

WEEK III.
Political power and its correlative phenomena (authority,etc)

POWER->latin-potentia=capacity to affect other things or individuals
Robert DAHL=>power: -the ability of A to make B do something B would not normally choose
to do (potential power can also be mentioned).
Questions: 1. Which are the sources of power?
2. How do we measure power?
POWER=a social relation
=>exercised by individuals and until a certain point a personal decision, it can be exercised by an
individual and as based on something that in sociology is called AGENCY.
AGENCY=an individual that wants to achieve his goals and these goals are desirable.
=>different goals between A and B

-power might unsolve restrictions and decravations, seen as negative in most of the cases
-power relations exist everywhere, such as human interaction, in every community and it is
natural for it.
-power and the of power are not static, they can be interchangeable
A=the powerful
B=the powerless
=>in our case, but they can easily swap places
-power is the very end of every human action, not a mean
-power=an important pillar onto the society
=not just an economic aspect, related to the economic domination
=an important variable into the management of the things
-political power=exercised first of all on a limited territory->the territory has to be sovereign=>
an important phenomena of political power
-we are dealing with various political groups from which one is dominant
-power has a function of cohersion->it has its own mean of punishment
=>political power and military power are not the same, although sometimes they overlap
(tight to the state)
-power should have the monopoly of the legitimate cohersion
=>used to discourage the political outsiders (domestical or international outsiders)
=>political power guarantees certain compatibility and balance between the activities of
a community
=>it organizes alliances and the defense towards towards outsiders
-power also has a general character, a generalized capacity of control and decision-making by
using economic, political, social and ideological means
=> the ultimate function of power => political control


2

Forms of power:
-characterized by the nature of the obedience related to the power:

Nature of power: cohersion (1)
Motive of the obedience: fear (1)
Institution: military (1)

Use of force Make deal Create obligations
(the stick) (the deal) (the kiss)
1. 2. 3.
Productive exchanges, mutual advantages (2)
The gain (2)
Economic institutions (2)
Commitment, integrative relationship (3)
Social institutions (3)
Political institutions (3)

Political power from WEBERs point of view:
-power is the authority of the eternal yesterday

Types of sanctions:
Context/Situation Channels/Intention
Positive persuasion persuasion
deals
Negative cohersion activation of commitment

AUTHORITY=also the right to do something over somebody
=the right to give an order such as this command would be object and no one
would question the right in question.
=> authority = power + legitimacy

To be IN authority vs. To be UNDER authority
Captain Passanger
->important destination in politics
-the means of communication would be extreme cases
-the final goal is to transformobedience into genuine obedience
Authority: ->charismatic=demagogues, rulers of the masses, heroes, prophets, etc
->traditional, historical=sacred, based on a myth
->legal
Legitimacy: ->can be used in an empirical manner but it also imposes certain values and
means = normative function
3

->distinction between ..
->measuring legitimacy makes us to draw comparison between various political
situations
-whether the people accept the authority of the law
-also brings about morality
-3 types of consensus: ->basic consensus;
->political consensus=agreement regarding the actions of the government
->checks and balances=the way a community is organized from a political
point of view
=>we, the members of society accept and elect representatives, not leaders
-consensus is rather punctual
-legitimacy=> should be continuous although it is not usually
=>expressed through various degrees of consensus
=> is more lasting.

FORCE=mainly physical (domestic and international level)
-correlative phenomenon: ->force
->influence: opposed to power
->prestige
a)Force:-should not be intensively or extensively
-could be used at the level of society
b)Influence:-by the pressure groups or interest groups
=>promoting a social cause or a political cause
=>interest groups are associations that are created to promote their interest, the interest of
individuals =>they may even dash between themselves.
c)Prestige:-a leader of a group that lacks prestige would sooner or later lose the relations and the
leadership of that group
-one of the most important ingredients of the political power.