LESSON IN PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 11

3.  Politics always involved the use of power in
getting things done.
 Power is manifested in the ability to do
something that is desired and can be sensed
when individuals can direct the actions of others
in a society.
 It is considered as a key ingredient in politics
that often implies control and has something to
do with influence and authority.

4.  Power based on its nature can be
subdivided into four namely:
 power over
 power to
 power with
 power within

5. Power over
is the ability to dominate
another person or a group
and often seen negatively
because it is associated
with force, threat,
coercion, discrimination,
corruption, and abuse.

6. Power to
 refers to the unique potential
of every person to shape his or
her life and world. It describes
the ability of a person/group
to do something on one’s own
sources:
 intellect,
 resources,
 knowledge, stamina and etc.

7. Power with
is similar also to “power
to” since it is based on
mutual support, solidarity,
and collaboration that
reflects the ability to
work with others to get
something done by
cooperation.

8. Power within
 has to do with a person’s sense
of self-worth and self-
knowledge which includes the
ability to recognize individual
differences while respecting
others.
 Power within allows people to
recognise their “power to” and
“power with”, and believe they
can make a difference

10. Power as Decision Making
 involves the ability to control
or influence in an open and
direct way.
 A concrete example would be
the government making
decisions on behalf of the
people.

11. Power as Decision Making
Lukes’ face of power is its ‘open face’, or power that is
transparent and visible to citizens
This is seen as transparent and democratic- most people
accept the decision due to the democratic nature of the
process

12. Power as Agenda Setting
 can be seen as not just about decision
making, it is about preventing
decisions being made or reducing the
choices which can be made.
 A classic example would be
topics/agendas being discussed in a
meeting. The one who holds power
can decide or limit what will be
discussed and more importantly what
cannot be discussed, effectively
controlling the situation.

13. Power as Agenda Setting
 The ‘Secretive Face’
 Having the power to set agendas and therefore limit what is
being discussed – certain issues are stopped by the powerful
‘elite’ never reaching the point where decisions are made.
 The powerful can ignore the demands of the weak by delay,
avoidance, or mass bureaucracy, or inclusive inquiries.
 Issues are avoided that the powerful anticipate will cause
problems.
 This type of power is only exercised behind ‘closed door’.

14. Power as Preference Shaping
 works by influencing how individuals think
about their place in the world. This shapes
people’s beliefs, sense of self, and acceptance
of their own superiority or inferiority.
 ‘thought control’
 Power make take the form of controlling
people’s thoughts by the manipulation of their
perceptions and preferences.

15. John R. P. French and Bertram H. Raven
In 1959, social psychologists John R. P. French and Bertram H.
Raven identified five sources/forms/types of power from which a
person gets power. These sources are now known as French and
Raven's Five Bases of Power.

16. Reward power

17. Coercive power

18. Legitimate power

19. Referent Power

20. Expert power

21.  The use of referent and expert power often
results in commitment while compliance is seen
as a result of using legitimate and reward power.
 The use of coercive power resulted in resistance
since majority of the people don’t want to feel
threatened or forced to do something out of their
own free will.
 Some of the positive effects of power includes
boosting of people’s morals and encouraging
them to achieve their goals.

22.  It also can enhance people’s motivation to help
others thereby creating a domino effect.
 Abuse of power and corruption are some of the
negative consequences of the use of power.
 People who gained power tend to put themselves
ahead of others that they react negatively if their
power and competence are questioned.