POWER:

Thinkers:-

Nature and significance of power:

1 Frederick Watkins
"The proper scope of political science is not the study of
state or any other specific institutional complex but the
investigation of all associations insofar as they can be
shown to exemplify the problem of power" (​The state as a
concept of political science)-----​-BOOK

2.William A Robson
It is with power in society that political science is primarily
concerned -its nature,basis,processes,scope and results
The 'focus of interest' of the political scientist is clear and
unambiguous; it centres
on the struggle to gain or retain power, to exercise power
or influence over others,
or to resist that exercise"

3.H. Lasswell and A. Kaplan:

defined political science as 'the study of the shaping and
sharing of power'(​Power and society)​-BOOK

4. Max Weber's
definition of politics also implies a focus on power in the
context of
national as well as international politics: "Politics is the
struggle for power or the
influencing of those in power, and embraces the struggle
between states as well as
between organized groups within the state"

5.Michael curtis
"Politics is organized dispute about power and its use,
involving choice among competing values, ideas, persons,
interests and demands.-((​Comparative Government and
Politics;)--​BOOK

TOPIC: MEANING OF POWER:

 ● Bertrand Russel​(Power:A new social
analysis​)

● HV Wiseman​(political system:some
sociological approach)

● Robert Dahl​(Modern political

analysis)

● StephenL wasby​(Political
science-the discipline and it's
dimensions​)
1.Bertrand Russel​ -Defined power as 'the
production of intended effects'. In other words, power
denotes the ability of a
person to fulfil his desires or to achieve his objectives
2.Robert dahl
defines power as a
kind of influence; it is exercised 'when compliance is
attained by creating the
prospect of severe sanctions for non-compliance'.

3. H.V. Wiseman
defines power as 'the ability to get one's wishes carried
out despite opposition'.

4. Stephen L. Wasby—
has similarly observed: "Power is generally thought to
involve bringing about of an action by someone against
the
will or desire of another

*​TOPIC: POLITICALPOWER
Thinkers_​Alan Ball​ (​Modern Politics and Government​)

"the concept of
political power. . . is a key concept in the study of politics
for if politics is the
resolution of conflict, the distribution of power within a
political community
determines how the conflict is to be resolved, and whether
the resolution is to be
effectively observed by all parties."

TWO TYPES:
● FORMAL-1.legislative
2.executive
. 3.judiciary
The obedience secured
by these organs, backed by sanctions, is an important
form of political power.
There is police to catch hold of offenders, courts to try the
offenders and settle disputes, and prisons to punish the
convicts. Then military is
meant to deal with foreign aggressors. In short, formal
organs of political power
play an effective role in a given territory

● INFORMAL:1Pressure
groups
2 Trade unions
3.public opinion
4.popular
movements
 3 ​Cases
1.in independent
states, public opinion, popular movements and
organized interests directly influence the
decision-making; in democracies, the ruling party is
bound to seek a fresh mandate from
the people at regular intervals
(ii) in the colonies, dependencies and dictatorships,
the
struggle for independence and strong popular
movements are sooner or later able to
secure not only substantial concessions but even to
win their independence;

(iii) in the international sphere, organized groups of

nations do exercise their influence on the
'authoritative allocation of values'. The constant
pressure exercised by the 'third world'
countries on the super powers to change their
economic and foreign policies is a case in
ECONOMIC POWER:
Economic power is the power emanating from the
possession of material things,especially the major
means of production and distribution. It is a potent
factor behind politics.
EX-Big landlords
Industrial tycoons
Bigness magnets

*​IDEOLOGICAL POWER

:Thinkers:

● Joseph Dinner​ (​Dictionay of political science

● Alan Ball(​Modern politics and

government​)

● Marx and Engels (​the german ideology)

 ● Antonio gramci

1.​ J
​ oseph Dunner-

outstanding feature of political ideology is that it

provides legitimacy to the ruling classes and helps
them maintain their stronghold on political power.
When people
are made to believe that a particular system of
government is the best system,they will not be
inclined to challenge the authority of the ruling
classes.

2.​ Alan Ball-

"Individuals are prepared to fight for causes, often
realistically hopeless causes, or to undergo
ill-treatment and torture in the belief that some
political values are superior to others."

3.​ Marx and Engle​ -noted that 'the ideas of the

ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas'.
According to them the class which
owns the means of material production in any
society also controls the means of
mental production.

4​.Antinio Gramsi
'the ideas of the ruling
class are in every epoch the ruling ideas'. According
to them the class which
owns the means of material production in any
society also controls the means of
mental production.he, gave the concept of
'hegemony' to explain the phenomenon of
ideological domination,
particularly of the capitalist class, in the
contemporary society.

TOPIC : STRUCTURE OF POWER

1..Marxist school of
thought​(​Marx and Engles)​-have and
have not

*Class struggle endorsed by

● Lenin
● Rosa Luxemburg
● Mao zedong

2.Elitist school of
thought
 ● Vilfredo Pareto(Italian sociologist),​ -
: ​The Mind and society-​BOOK
(Governing elite and governed elite)

●G​ aetano Mosca(Italian

sociologist)
: (​The Ruling Class)​ ​-BOOK
​two groups: the rulers and the ruled.

●Robert Michels (a German

sociologists)

Political Parties: A Sociological

 Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies
of Modern Democracy​ ​-BOOK
​'Iron Law of Oligarchy'​.

●Max Weber(German sociologists)

'Socialism' ​-ESSAY

​Note-This model further adapted by ​Joseph

Schumpeter​ ,​ an American economist and
social thinker

●C. Wright Mills(American

sociologist​,)
 ​The Power Elite​ ​-BOOK

● Feminist school of thought

● Pluralist theory

1.​Class perspective:
Class perspective on power developed during the mid of the
nineteenth century. According to this theory political
power is the product of economic power.

In other words, the tree of political

power grows on the roots of economic power;
the edifice of political power is
raised on the foundation of economic power.

Economic power is vested in the

ownership of means of social production.
 the opening sentence
of Communist Manifesto (Marx and Engels;) reads: "The
history of all
hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
Communist Manifesto gave a clarion call: "Workers of all
countries,
unite!"