Power (social and political)

Social and political power as a multifaceted concept. Top-left: The entrance of the Zhongnanhai, the compound that houses the top leadership of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Top-right: In the indexes of the Henley Passport Index, Singapore is often posited as the most visa-free access of any country through their passport agreements to 195 destinations; an example of soft power. Bottom-left: a chain gang of prisoners serving their sentences under the authority of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the United States. Bottom-right: statue of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama near Moneygall, Ireland; an example of cultural power.

In political science, power is the ability to influence or direct the actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors.^[1]^[2]^[3] Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions).^[4]

Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters, etc.), and discursive forms, as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others.^[3]

The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure. ^[5]

Scholars have distinguished between soft power and hard power.^[6]^[7]

^ McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (26 February 2009). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-101827-5.
^ "Definition of POWER". www.merriam-webster.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b Barnett, Michael; Duvall, Raymond (2005). "Power in International Politics". International Organization. 59 (1): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0020818305050010. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 3877878. S2CID 3613655.
^ Finnemore, Martha; Goldstein, Judith (2013), "Puzzles about Power", Back to Basics: State Power in a Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199970087.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-997008-7, retrieved 9 April 2022
^ "Authority | Definition, Types & Uses | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
^ Wilson III, E. J. (2008). Hard power, soft power, smart power. The annals of the American academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 110-124.
^ Gray, Colin S. Hard power and soft power: the utility of military force as an instrument of policy in the 21st century. Lulu. com, 2011.

[1] McLean, Iain; McMillan, Alistair (26 February 2009). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-101827-5.

[2] "Definition of POWER". www.merriam-webster.com. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024.

[:0-3] Barnett, Michael; Duvall, Raymond (2005). "Power in International Politics". International Organization. 59 (1): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0020818305050010. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 3877878. S2CID 3613655.

[4] Finnemore, Martha; Goldstein, Judith (2013), "Puzzles about Power", Back to Basics: State Power in a Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199970087.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-997008-7, retrieved 9 April 2022

[5] "Authority | Definition, Types & Uses | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.

[6] Wilson III, E. J. (2008). Hard power, soft power, smart power. The annals of the American academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 110-124.

[7] Gray, Colin S. Hard power and soft power: the utility of military force as an instrument of policy in the 21st century. Lulu. com, 2011.

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