Political Power:

Elements and Sources

Spring 2020

POL 101: Session 5

06 February 2020
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power
corrupts absolutely”
Sir John Action
British Historian and Philosopher
• Lord Acton’s idiom means that those in power often do not have
the people’s best interests in mind. They are primarily focused
on their own benefits, and they may abuse their powerful
position for themselves.

• Quotations of similar ideas have been around since the 1700s,

often referring to the monarchs of the time.

• Naturally this is not always the case. There are many examples
of kind and good leaders. It is hard to distinguish whether the
power corrupted them or the men who were drawn to power
were already corrupted.

• Generally it is seen that when a person’s power increases,

his/her sense of morality decreases.
 Characteristics of Power
Power is the ability to get someone to do something they
otherwise wouldn’t do.

Power is a connection among people, the ability of one person to

get others to do his or her bidding. It is earned, not seized.

It is a sort of enabling device to carry out or implement policies

and decisions.

Even a religious leader who rules over love and affection would
be exercising power over his followers.
• Power involves the exercise of volition (will).
• Power over someone else involves altering his
or her volition (will).
• Power can be latent or manifest.
• Power involves the exercise of volition (will).
• Different types of power are generally
blended together when power is made
manifest.
 What is Political Power?
• Political power is ability of one person to get another to
do something.
• Power is a prime ingredient of Politics.
• It would be difficult to imagine a political system without
political power.
• The power that many kings, queens, presidents,
dictators, and other government leaders used to possess
is also political power, but it is mostly limited to
influence. Typically we think of kings as not having
much political power, and this is largely correct.
 INSTITUTIONALIZED POWER
 A nation is a group of people who share some sort of common
identity like a language, a religion, an ethnicity, or a shared
history.
 Political institutions are the working structures of government,
such as legislatures and executive departments. Institutions may
or may not be housed in impressive buildings, although that helps
bolster their authority.
 Good institutions are flexible and evolve.
 Authority is a fluid thing and requires continual maintenance. A
political institution is congealed or partly solidified authority.
 Institutions are bigger than individual leaders
 Powerful inhabitants of an office can sometimes put their personal
stamp on the institution.
 Key elements of political power

Power is the ability to influence and direct the behavior of

other people and guide the course and outcome of events.
Authority means that an individual or group has the right
to use power by making decisions, giving orders, and
demanding obedience.
Legitimacy refers to citizens' belief that their leaders have
the right to exercise power and authority; it is the
acceptance of the government by the governed.
Sovereignty is the highest exercise of political power; it is
supreme and ultimate authority that cannot be overruled by
a higher power.
 Five sources of political power
Legitimate power is power obtained from formal position or office held in
the organization's hierarchy of authority. For example, the president of a
corporation has certain powers because of the office he holds in the
corporation.

Referent power refers to the ability of a leader to influence a follower

because of the follower's loyalty, respect, friendship, admiration, affection,
or a desire to gain approval.

Expert power is defined as the use of (the perception of) expert knowledge
to get a subordinate to follow an instruction or order. Here, power comes
from the subordinate’s belief that their manager or leader possesses expert
skills or knowledge that they do not themselves possess.
 Sources of Political Power
Reward power is simply the power of a manager to give
some type of reward to an employee as a means to
influence the employee to act. Rewards can be tangible or
intangible.
Coercive power is the ability of a manager to force an
employee to follow an order by threatening the employee
with punishment if the employee does not comply with the
order.
The most important concept to understand about coercive
power is that it uses the application of force. It seeks to
force or compel behavior rather than to influence behavior
through persuasion.
In government, the term authority is
synonymous with power.

Authority identifies political legitimacy,

which justifies the right to
exercise power of government.
 Authority
• The term authority identifies political legitimacy, which grants
and justifies the right to exercise power of government.
• Authority is the power to make decisions and the right to make
such decision.
• Authority is a fluid thing and requires continual maintenance. A
political institution is firm or partly solidified authority.
• The term "authority" is often used for power that is perceived
as legitimate by the social structure.
• Authority is a form of rightful power.
• Authority based on a perceived right to rule with a moral
aspect.
Relationship between Power and Authority
• Authority is the legitimate exercise of power but as
to whether this requires morality or PERCEPTION or
rightfulness.

• Ruling by power alone eventually lead to

unsustainable use of coercive resources.
 TYPES OF POWER
FORCE is power involving physical means.
Examples: physical sabotage of resources, conducting war,
embargoes and boycotts (which deny physical access to
resources), blockades and barricades (which deny physical access
to a place), or revolutions and riots (which physically mobilize
groups in support of or opposition to a government
or policy), blocking access to a courthouse, voting booth, public
school, or abortion facility.
MANIPULATION is nonphysical power in EXCHANGE is the use of power through
which the agent using power conceals the use of
power.
Examples: issue press releases highlighting certain items in the
poll and playing down less attractive ones; convince journalists to
publish articles critical of opponents.
PERSUASION is nonphysical power in
which the agent using power makes its use of
power clear and known to the agent over whom
power is exercised.
Examples: lobbying, speechmaking, debating, writing letters,
issuing position papers, and making proclamations in the form of
court decisions, executive orders, laws, and policies.
incentives.
Example: bribe.
 Legitimacy
• It is mass feeling that the government’s rule is rightful
and should be obeyed
• To be in a position to exercise authority.
• Moral right to rule and people’s consent to be
governed. If there is a formal constitutional basis that
is legitimacy.
• Dictatorship could have legitimacy as it is meant to
protect the individual.
• Legitimacy comes about by preventing people getting
harmed (implied consent).
• For Rousseau the state is legitimate if it upholds the
general will.
REFERENCE

Required Reading
• Roskin, M. G., Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., & Jones, W. S. (2014). Political
Science: An Introduction (14th Edition). Pearson. (Chapter 1, 3, 17)

• https://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-
revision/politics/power-authority-legitimacy-theory