Political Thought & Action Exam 2

‘Power to’

Power as the capacity to reach a certain outcome or get something that you want

‘Power over’

Power as relational - the ability to get other people to do what you tell them to

Power as domination - the ability to make decisions that others follow

Main questions about power in political theory

• Who has power?

• What does it mean to have power?

• Who should have power?

Lukes’s Three Faces of Power

• Decision Making - Power can involve the ability to influence decisions

• Agenda Setting - Power can be reflected in the capacity to shape political agendas

• Preference Manipulation - Power can take the form of controlling and shaping people’s perceptions and preferences

Lukes’s Faces of Power - Decision Making

• Power to

  • Hobbes - power as mechanical (cause & effect)

• Power over

  • Dahl - who gets their way? How often do they get their way? Over what topics/decisions?

• Who gets the final say is who has power

• Select key decision-makers/actors → Discover their preferences → see who got what they wanted

Critiques of Decision Making Face of Power

• Ignored processes and non-action by focusing only on outcomes

• Power only exists in the presence of conflict or struggle

• Assumes actors’ stated interests are true or accurate

Lukes’s Faces of Power - Agenda Setting

• Similar to decision making, but adds non-action as a type of power

  • Ability to control the agenda

  • Ability to stop change & preserve status quo

• Thinks more about the process of decision making and who controls which options are and are not considered

• Looks at who might be exercising influence behind the scenes and affecting outcomes

Critiques of Agenda Setting Face of Power

• Too focused on decision-making and is actor or agency oriented

• Still assumes stated preferences are accurate or true

• Doesn’t take into account how preferences and information can be shaped or manipulated

• Focuses mainly on political elites

Lukes’s Faces of Power - Preference Manipualtion

• People do not always mean what they say

  • They may bluff or lie about their preferences

  • Deception creates opportunities to use power

• People do not have perfect information

  • They may not have access to information that may alter their preferences

  • People update their preferences as they gain new information

• People are not always rational in that they pursue their most favored outcome

  • There can be conflicting interests

• Power is about persuasion and who can persuade

• Absence of conflict does not necessarily mean power is equally distributed or shared

Critiques of Preference Manipulation Face of Power

• Theory is often subjective and normative because it mixes facts and perceptions

• These types of theories can be contested

• Difficult to prove you have a better understanding of what is in someone else’s interests than they do - often relies on normative opinion about what is true and/or good

Examples of preference manipulation theories

• Neustadt & Presidential Power

• Pateman & Sexual Contract

  • Western social contracts have been buuilt on contracts where women are subordinate to men and depend on men

• Riker & Heresthetic

Heresthetic

• “The art of political manipulation”

• A set of political strategies that set up decision making situations in ways that help you win (Riker)

• Allows you to win by putting people in situations where they want to join you or feel that have no option but to join you

Heresthetic Tactics: Agenda Control

Control rules & order of debate to advance the preferred outcome

Heresthetic Tactics: Strategic Voting

Vote against your most preferred option because it is likely to lose; vote for the next best option instead

Heresthetic Tactics: Dimension Manipulation

• Introduce new information and redefine issues

• Increase dimensionality to expand the number of issues; fix dimensionality to limit issues that are considered

Heresthetic Tactics: Participant Curation

Changing the location of debate, participants, and rules on contentious issues

The four heresthetic tactics

• Agenda control

• Strategic voting

• Dimension manipualtion

• Participant curation

Power as productive

• Power is about relations and who has the power to assign meaning to things

• Looks at how power gets embedded in language and systems of thought

• Includes discourses of power

Discourses of power

• Systems of social relations, practices, and ideas that assign meaning, and therefore identities, to those within them

• Set up conflicts between groups of insiders and outsiders

Examples of power as productive

• Critical theory

• Post-structuralism

Origin of Critical Theory

• Emerged from the Frankfurt school of Social Theory in the early 1900s

Philosophy of Critical Theory

• Critiques social practices by blending social research with philosophy

• Commitment to the idea of emancipation

  • Goal is to uncover and explain systems of oppression

• Who is included and who is excluded

• Harsh towards existing institutions

Theorists associated with critical theory

Horkheimer and Habermas

Philosophy of Post-Structuralism

• Emphasizes the importance of language and meaning in politics

  • Meaning-making as a form of power

• No universal truths

• Revalist thinking

What is the primary question of post-structuralism?

Who has the power to assign meaning and value?

Theorists associated with post-structuralism

Heidegger, Focuault, and Derrida

Critique of Post-Structuralism

It upholds the status quo

Authority

a means through which one person can influence the behavior of another

How does authority create compliance?

Through the perceived ‘right to rule’ that entails a moral obligation to obey that order or direction

What is the difference between power and authority?

Power is about whose order is obeyed; authority is about whose order should (or should not) be obeyed

How does Authority bring about compliance?

• Without needing any persuasion or coercion

  • People accept the decision without questioning the leaders ability to make that decision

What defines power?

Persuasion and coercion

What two concepts are often paired together, as many political leaders have both?

Authority and power

‘In authority’

authority based on occupying a position that comes with power

‘An authority’

Expertise and knowledge, which gives opinions special consideration, but not formal power

What are the three types of authority?

• Traditional Authority

• Charismatic authority

• Legal-rational authority

Traditional Authority

Customs and traditions are followed because they have authority, and represent the collected reason of the ages

Charismatic Authority

Authority based on someone’s personal qualities and traits. Authority comes from an individual's perceived qualities, not from a formal position with clear, defined powers and limitations.

Legal-rational authority

Power is executed through a list of clearly defined rules and institutions with limitations on power.

What is legal-rational authority associated with?

The rule of law

What are two justifications of authority?

• Authority is allowed as long as it is limited

• Authority is a necessary part of society to provide guidance and produce social cohesion

What connects authority to the social contract theory?

Authority is allowed as long as it is limited

Why do some theorists think authority should be rejected?

It is opressive, and takes away individual liberty, freedom, and autonomy

What concepts are associated with the rejection of authority?

Anarchy, libertarianism, and socialism

Legitimacy

The rightful use of power, and who gets to claim power and authority and have their claims accepted by others.

How is legitimacy defined by the textbook?

Legitimacy confers a binding character on a law, institution, or government, ensuring that it is obeyed out of moral duty rather than coercion

If legitimacy is lost, what is at risk?

Authority

What are Beetham’s conditions of legitimate governments?

• Power is exercised according to established rules

• Established rules are justified in terms of shared beliefs of government and the governed

• There is expressed consent of the governed

When did the idea that the consent of the governed provides legitimacy to governments emerge?

In the era of Modern Political Thought

Tacit Consent

An implied agreement among citizens to obey the law and respect the authority of the government

Explicit consent

A verbal or written confirmation that one recognizes the authority and legitimacy of the government

When did constitutions become a way to establish the legitimacy of government institutions?

In the modern era of political thought

What kind of consent is a constitution an example of?

Explicit consent

What do social contracts in the form of constitutions specify?

• The structure of government institutions

• The power and authority of government institutions

• The rights and liberties of the people

• What the government can and cannot do

What does a constitution make easier?

The ability of the people to hold the government and individual leaders accountable for how they use authority and power

What are the three main themes of politics in the Modern Era?

• Politics associated with formal institutions of government and government activities

• Politics commonly linked to public life & activities

• Since 18th century, politics often thought of as related to distribution of power, wealth, and resources

How does Otto von Bismarck describe politics?

As an art, not a science

What is politics as government?

The belief that politics refers to the institutions of government and the people who work in government institutions. Politics is limited to government institutions and actors, and most of the population and most social action take place outside the scope of politics.

What is politics as public affairs?

The belief that politics is about public life and decisions made about the community. Politics occurs in public spaces, and it is implied that private, or non-public, places exist.

Under the philosophy that politics is public affairs, where does politics occur?

Politics occurs when citizens engage with each other about what is good for the community they live in.

Why does the philosophy that politics is public affairs indicate that public life must involve the state?

Because if government employees are not involved in interactions between citizens, then politics is not taking place

What is a common issue associated with the politics as public affairs philosophy?

There is not always clear, agreed-upon definitions of public, private, and state.

What is politics as power & conflict?

The belief that politics refers to the process of navigating power and managing conflict. Politics is not confined to the government and/or public sphere; it can happen in the private sphere. Politics takes place whenever power is unequally distributed, and can take place in relationships inside and outside the government.

How is the politics as power & conflict philosophy connect to resource management?

Politics is described as managing conflicts, which can be linked to the production, distribution, and use of resources.

Who is Aristotle?

A greek philospher who lived from 384-323 BC

How did Aristotle describe government?

A government is about who rules and who benefits from rule, and the government’s power can be corrupted.

What are Aristotle’s three types of government?

• Monarchy (rule by one)

• Aristocracy (rule by the few)

• Polity (rule by many)

According to Aristotle, what system of government is most ideal?

• A mixed system of government is ideal because it is most likely to pursue the interests of the middle class

• The government should intend to protect the pursuit of the ‘good life’ through active involvement in communities and the pursuit of justice

• Politics should take place in public settings, not just in the government

What is republicanism?

A political ideology centered on citizenship, popular sovereignty, the rule of law, and the common good, emphasizing civic participation and the prevention of tyranny or arbitrary domination.

What are common themes in republicanism?

• Non-domination as freedom

• Pursuit of the common good (not just individual self-interest)

• Emphasis on public activity

What are common elements of republican theories?

• Popular sovereignty

• Representation

• Rule of law

• Separation of powers and checks & balances

• Civic virtue

• Public good prioritized over individual/private interests

What is the state?

A political entity with a defined territory, a permanent population, a government, and sovereignty

What is the government to the state?

The machinery through which the state’s authority is exercised and its policies are implemented

What are the functions of government?

• Legislation

• Administration

• Judiciary

• Foreign relation

What are the two theories of the state?

• Absolutist states

• Constitution states

Absolutist states

State is sovereign, territorial, compulsory, and unified. Political power and authority centralized into one person.

What is the thought process behind power being centralized in absolutist states?

Centralized power will provide for stability and order

What thinker is absolutist state theory associated with?

Thomas Hobbes

Constitution States

A social contract builds legitimacy for government institutions through the consent of the government. The state has the responsibility to do what is in the interest of the common good.

What benefit does a constitution state create?

Individuals are limited, and the powers of the government/state are limited

Sovereignty

The power that states have within their territorial borders

What are the four kinds of sovereignty?

• Legal sovereignty

• Political sovereignty

• Internal sovereignty

• External sovereignty

Legal sovereignty

Compliance through legitimacy

Political sovereignty

Compliance through power or domination

Internal sovereignty

Affairs within the state and where power and authority are located in domestic politics

External sovereignty

• The state’s place in international politics and capability to preserve its own independence

• The state’s ability to protect its own territory, people, government institutions, and internal sovereignty from other states & governments

How are internal and external sovereignty related?

If external sovereignty is threatened, you risk losing your internal sovereignty

Who is Niccolo Macchiavelli?

A philosopher from Florence, Italy who wrote The Prince in 1513 after losing his position as a diplomat

How did Macchiavelli intend for his theories to be interpreted?

He wanted them to be practical, and wanted to depicted power and politics as they are, not as they could or should be

Themes of Macchiavelli’s theories

• Realism

• Not reliant on religion

• Prioritize security and stability

• Politics in the frame of the pursuit and exercise of power

Why does Machiavelli think that leaders should want to be feared, rather than loved?

People will abandon their loyalty to you if they act out of love. If they fear you and the way you might use power to punish them, they’ll be less likely to turn on you.

What are Machiavelli’s other recommendations to rulers

• Strive only to avoid hatred and to keep people satisfied

• Never join forces with someone who is more powerful than you

• Enforce laws and do what is best in each situation

• Acquire esteem by accomplishing great things

In the Prince, what do the fox and lion represent?

The fox represents persuasion and the lion represents domination. They are the two faces of power, and leaders must have both.

When does Machiavelli say cruelty is justified?

When a citizen threatens stability, cruelty can be beneficial for society at large. If someone’s life must be taken, it must be done in a just way and it must be clear how it is just.

Why does Machiavelli say you should choose sides?

If you help another prince and they win, then they will remember this and help you in the future

Law is important because it structures what?

• Relations between individuals in a society

• Relations between individuals and the state

What do laws tell citizens?

• What they must do (obligations)

• What they cannot do (restrictions)

• What they have the right to do (rights and liberties)

Law is:

• Institutionalized within the state

• Applies over the entire society

• Compulsory

• Public and accessible

• Binding

According to the rule of law, do laws or individuals govern society?

Laws govern society. The legal system decides if/when a law has been broken and what the consequences are for breaking the law.

What are the major effects of the rule of law

• Written laws are superior to every individual in the state

• Law is applied equally to everyone residing in the state