Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Politics and Power
Politics and Power
POLIS city-state
POLITES citizen
POLITIKOS politician
POLITIKE politics as the art of citizenship
and government
POLITEIA constitution, rules of politics
POLITEUMA political community, all those
residents who have full political rights
Four categories of residents of the ancient Greek polis
1. Citizens with full legal and political rights
Adult free men born legitimately of citizen parents. They
owners will
The Acropolis, Athens
State
Market
Society
There is a city called Polis in the
northern part of the Island of Cyprus:
http://www.polis-municipality-cyprus.com/
Power
The fuel of politics.
The ability to make,
or to influence the making of,
those binding decisions which are the essence of politics
Struggle for power
Distribution of power: how fair? how equal? how
effective?
Balance of power
Great power, superpower, hyperpower
A powerful leader
TYPES OF POWER
POLITICAL POWER
control of, or influence on, the state, ability to
make, or influence, political decisions
ECONOMIC POWER
control of economic assets
MILITARY POWER
ability to wage war - or to compel others
through intimidation or deterrence
These forms of power interact in many ways.
For example?
An important distinction:
Power over
and power to
Power to conveys the idea of ones ability to realize
ones goals without coercing others
Individually, by exercising ones freedom
Or collectively, by joining with others in a free and
voluntary way
Associated with visions of a good society, based on the
ideals of freedom, equality, justice, solidarity, democracy
Gandhis first protest, South Africa, 1906:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNmJqRV7LOA
Barack Obama, 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=yCFhpYMhaqY&feature=channel
In real life, power over is the prevalent kind of power
Its main characteristics:
1. AN INTERACTIVE PROCESS
(you have to have someone to have power over)
2. POTENTIAL or ACTIVE
3. A PURPOSEFUL ACTIVITY
4. PROMOTIVE (Do it!) or PREVENTIVE (Dont do it!)
5. BALANCED or UNBALANCED (Absolute power corrupts
absolutely Lord Acton). Democracy associated with balanced
power
INFLUENCE use of power (or power exertion) with an
uncertain outcome
CONTROL use of power with a more or less certain
outcome
DOMINATION structured, stable use of power
5 principal forms of power (see OCDP, power)
1.FORCE ability to detain and harm people and damage or
confiscate their property to compel them to obey your orders
2.PERSUASION ability to convince people to do what they
otherwise would not have done by invoking their own
interests and common sense
3.AUTHORITY legitimate (just and lawful) power to control
and direct peoples activities
4.COERCION controlling people by means of threatening
use of force
5.MANIPULATION controlling people without threats, by
persuading them about the legitimacy of the existing power
relationships, or by offering them benefits
LEGITIMATE power
TYPES OF LEGITIMACY (Max Weber, Politics as a
Vocation)
TRADITIONAL based on tradition, established
beliefs or values (example: rule of dynasties, power of
the church)
LEGAL-RATIONAL based on formal
arrangements (rules, laws, constitutions). The main type
practiced in contemporary politics
CHARISMATIC* based on the extraordinary
personal qualities of a leader, or on the influence of an
idea or a cause
*from ancient Greek word charisma, meaning gift
Information as a power resource
Knowledge is power Francis Bacon