2. Power to versus power over
Power over: a definition
Three dimensions of power
Empirical application
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3. Warnings
Conceptual analysis
Criteria for conceptual analysis:
clarity, applicability, intelligibility,
match with ordinary language
Empirical issues important but
discussed at end
Links back to issues of falsification
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5. Two variants
A has the power to do something. . .
versus A has power over B
Example of the former: does China
have the power to send a man to the
moon
Example of the former: am I
empowered to stamp documents with
a UEA stamp?
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6. Why are we interested in
power over?
Does this sound too conflictual?
Very often, the power to do something
requires having power over individuals
'Power to' without `power over' often
uninteresting
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8. An attempt
A has power over B when A has
the capacity to affect B in a
manner contrary to B's interests
Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View My
paraphrase.
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9. An attempt
A has power over B when A has
the capacity to affect B in a
manner contrary to B's interests
Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View My
paraphrase.
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10. An attempt
A has power over B when A has
the capacity to affect B in a
manner contrary to B's interests
Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View My
paraphrase.
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11. An attempt
A has power over B when A has
the capacity to affect B in a
manner contrary to B's interests
Lukes (2005), Power: A Radical View My
paraphrase.
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12. As and Bs
What types of things can slot in for A
and B?
Countries? (China has power over
North Korea)
B must at least have interests
Do collective actors have interests?
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13. Capacity and exercise (1)
Brittleness is a capacity, or disposition
Bottles have the (negative) capacity to
break under certain conditions
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14. Capacity and exercise (2)
Power is a capacity, or a dispositional
attribute
We don't walk in to 10 Downing Street
and see the exercise of power
This causes problems for empirical
research
Implicit counterfactual: were this
person to act (cf. were we to throw
the bottle against the wall)
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15. Interests
Compare
A has power over B when A has
the capacity to affect B in a
manner contrary to B's interests
(Lukes-esque)
with
A has power over B to the extent
he can get B to do something that
B would not otherwise do (Dahl)
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16. Other forms of `causing
people to act'
Persuasion
Encouragement
Inducement
General co-operative endeavour
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17. Power and the powerful
What is it to be powerful?
Simply to have power over a wide
range of other people,. . .
with the capacity to affect them in
ways that touch on (core) interests of
theirs,. . .
and to do so across a range of issues
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18. What problems does this
cause?
We need a (defensible) account of
people's interests
We can take people's preferences as
given
Can or must we go further?
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20. Lukes' PRV
1st dimension: power in
decision-making
2nd dimension: power of agenda
control
3rd dimension: power to shape
interests
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21. Decision-making:
background
The Yalies (Dahl, Polsby)
The Rest (C Wright Mills)
What is this Power Elite of which you
speak?
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22. Decision-making: premises
Identify precisely the As and Bs
In this case, economic elites versus
the rest
Identify conflict between these groups
Identify decisions
Ask whether A or B got what they
wanted
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23. Decision-making: findings
Economic resources in New Haven
unequally distributed
`Power' distributed in a pluralistic
fashion. . .
over a range of issues (appointments,
housing, education)
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24. Agenda control
The Bachrach and Baratz counter:
Some powerful individuals might
prefer certain decisions not to be
taken
(Presumably they believe that the
decision, if taken, would go against
them)
We have to check which items go on
to the agenda
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25. Observing this
This is a point about agenda control
This is not just a point about formal
decision-making agendas (though it
helps explain why secretaries are more
powerful than we think)
it is also a point about the mobilization
of bias and inertia
``Yes, of course, we'll talk about that
soon''
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26. Shaping interests
We've been taking interests at face
value
What if people are mistaken about
their interests
What's the Matter with Kansas?
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27. False consciousness
If you posit a difference between real
and stated interests, another
dimension opens up
This is the power to shape people's
interests (away from their real
interests)
`Bourgeois morality' and `false
consciousness'
Intuitively helps us make sense of the
media
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30. Real interests
Ivory tower much?
Are claims about real interests the kind
of claims that can be tested?
Which named individuals exercise this
power?
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