INR 102 Introduction to Political Science II

1. INR 102 IntroductiontoPoliticalScience II Power , Authority & Legitimacy 22th March 2010

2. Definition of Power • In the natural sciences: ‘force’ or ‘energy’. • In the social sciences: A) the ability to achieve a desired outcome, sometimes referred to as power to. B) a relationship as the exercise of control by one person over another, or as power over.

3. StevenLukes’sDefinition in Power: A Radikal View if A gets B to do something A wants but which B would not have chosen to do, power is being exercised.

4. In other words, power is the ability to get someone to do what they would not otherwise have done. • But Lukes’s distinctions are nevertheless of value in drawing attention to how power is exercised in the real world, to the various ways in which A can influence B’s behaviour.

5. TheThreeFaces of Power • These are some kind of ways that how power exercised in real life. • [Decision Making] Power can involve the ability to influence the making of decisions. • [Agenda Setting] Power may be reflected in the capacity to shape the political agenda and thus prevent decisions being made. • [Thought Control] Power may take the form of controlling people’s thoughts by the manipulation of their perceptions and preferences.

6. Decision-making • Itdatesbackto Thomas Hobbes’ssuggestionthatpower is theability of an ‘agent’ toaffectthebehaviour of a ‘patient’. • Thisnotion is in factanalogoustothe idea of physicalormechanicalpower, in that it impliesthatpowerinvolvesbeing ‘pulled’ or ‘pushed’ againstone’swill. • Thisargument’sclassicstatement can be found in Robert Dahl’s ‘A Critique of theRulingElite Model’ (1958) and it has beencentraltoconventionalpoliticalscience.

7. Poweris concentrated in thehands of a “rulingelite” andthisgrouptreatedpower as theabilitytoinfluencethedecisionmakingprocess. • Theattraction of thistreatment of power is that it correspondstothecommonsensebeliefthatpower is somehowaboutgettingthings done, and is thereforemostclearlyreflected in decisionsandhowtheyaremade.

8. Agendasetting • TheTwoFaces of Power(1962) by P. Bachrachand M. Baratzwhichdescribespowerby a non-decisionmakingperspective as thesecondface of power. • Theyalsoacceptedthatthepower is reflected in thedecision-makingprocess but brought a newperspectivetotheconcept. • This form of power is theabilityto set thepoliticalagenda. • Thiskind is difficult – but not impossible – idetify, requaring as it does an understanding of thedynamics of non-decision-making.

9. Whereasthedecision-makingapproachtopowerencouragesattentiontofocusupontheactiveparticipation of groups in theprocess, non-decisionshighlighttheimportance of politicalorganization in blockingtheparticipation of certaingroupsandtheexpression of particularopinions. • Intheview of BachrachandBaratz, anyadequateunderstanding of powermusttakefullaccount of ‘the dominant valuesandthepoliticalmyths, ritualsandinstitutionswhichtendtofavourthevestedinterests of oneormoregroups, relativetoothers’.

10. The analysis of power as non-decision-making has often generated elitist rather than pluralist conclusions. Bachrach and Baratz, for instance, pointed out that the ‘mobilization of bias’ in conventional politics normally operates in the interests of what they call ‘status quo defenders’, privileged or elite groups.

11. ThoughtControl • Inreality, no humanbeingpossesses an entirelyindependentmind; theideas, opinionsandpreferences of allarestructuredandshapedbysocialexperience, throughtheinfluence of family, peergroups, school, theworkplace, themassmedia, politicalpartiesandsoforth. • So, thethirdface of power is in relationshipwiththisrealityanddefinesthepower as theabilityof A toexercisepowerover B, not bygetting B to do what he would not otherwise do, but, in byinfluencing, shapingordetermining his verywants’. • Some of thethinkersthat can be placed in thistype of powerareStevenLukes, HerbertMarcuse, someMarxist (and New Left) theorist, MichelFoucaultetc.

12. Marcuseargues in OneDimensionalManthatadvancedindustrialsocietiescontrolpeoplethroughthepervasivemanipulation of needs, madepossibleby modern technology. ThiscreatedwhatMarcusecalled ‘a comfortable, smooth, reasonable, democraticunfreedom’. Insuchcircumstances, theabsence of conflict in societymay not attestto general contentmentand a widedispersal of power.

13. A centraltheme in theradicalview of power is thedistinctionbetweentruthandfalsehood, reflected in thedifferencebetweensubjectiveor ‘felt’ interests, andobjectiveor ‘real’ interests. • ForMarxandortodoxMarxists, thepower of thebourgeoisie is ideological, as wellas economicandpolitical. InMarx’sview, the dominant ideas, valuesandbeliefs of anysocietyaretheideas of itsrulingclass. Thustheproletariat as theexploitedclassis deludedbytheweight of bourgeoisideasandtheoriesandcomestosufferfrom “falseconsciousness’.

14. Postmodern thinkers influenced in particular by the writings of Michel Foucault, have also drawn attention to the link between power and systems of thought through the idea of a ‘discourse of power’.

15. Discourses are a form of power in that they set up antagonisms and structure relations between people, who are defined as subjects or objects, as ‘insiders’ or ‘outsiders’. • Postmodern theorists come close to seeing power as ubiquitous, all systems of knowledge being viewed as manifestations of power.

16. Authority • Politics’ traditionalconcern is theexercise of power; however it is oftenmorenarrowlyinterested in thephenomenoncalled ‘authority’, andespecially ‘politicalauthority’. • Authority is a form of powerbut theyaredistinguishedfromoneanother as contrastingmeansthroughwhichcomplianceorobedience is achieved.

17. power can be defined as the ability to influence the behaviour of another, • authority can be understood as the right to influence the behaviour of another,

18. Authority is an importanttopicfor modern sociologyandMaxWeber is one of themwhoconcernedtoexplainwhy, andunderwhatcircumstances, peoplewerepreparedtoaccepttheexercise of power as rightfulorlegitimate. • He definedauthoritysimply as a matter of people’sbeliefaboutitsrightfulness, regardless of wherethatbeliefcamefromandwhetheror not it is morallyjustified. • Weber’sapproachtreatsauthority as a form of power; authority is ‘legitimatepower’, powercloaked in legitimacy

19. A final difficulty in clarifyingthemeaning of authorityarisesfromthecontrastinguses of theterm. People can be described as beingeither ‘in authority’ or ‘an authority’. • Todescribe a person as being in authority is toreferto his or her positionwithinan institutionalhierarchy. A teacher, policeman, civilservant, judgeorministerexercisesauthority in preciselythis sense. Theyareoffice-holderswhoseauthority is basedupontheformal ‘powers’ of their post orposition. • To be described as an authority is to be recognised as possessingsuperiorknowledgeorexpertise, andtohaveone’sviewstreatedwithspecialrespect as a result.

20. Kinds of Authority • Themostinfluentialattempttocategorizetypes of authoritywasundertakenbyMaxWeber • He constructedthree ‘ideal-types’, which he acceptedwereonlyconceptualmodels but which, he hoped, wouldhelptomake sense of thehighlycomplexnature of politicalrule.

21. TraditionalAuthority • Webersuggestedthat in traditionalsocietiesauthority is baseduponrespectforlong-establishedcustomsandtraditions. • Traditionalauthority is regarded as legitimatebecause it has ‘alwaysexisted’ andwasacceptedbyearliergenerations. • Themostobviousexamples of traditionalauthorityarefoundamongsttribesorsmallgroups, in the form of ‘patriarchalism’ and‘gerontocracy’.

22. CharismaticAuthority • This form of authority is basedentirelyuponthepower of an individual’spersonality, his or her ‘charisma’. • Charismaticauthorityowesnothingto a person’sstatus, socialpositionoroffice, andeverythingto his or her personalqualitiesand, in particular, theabilitytomake a directandpersonalappealtoothers. • Charismaticauthorityshould not be thinksimply as a giftornaturalpropensity. Politicalleadersoftentryto ‘manufacture’ charisma, eitherbycultivatingtheirmediaimageandsharpeningtheiroratoricalskillsor, in orchestrating an elaborate ‘cult of personality’ throughthecontrol of a propaganda machine.

23. Legal – RationalAuthority • Thiswasthemostimportantkind of authority since, in Weber’sview • thedominant mode of organisationwithin modern industrialsocieties. • Legal-rationalauthoritywascharacteristic of thelarge-scale, bureaucraticorganizationsthat had cometodominate modern society.

24. Legal-rationalauthorityoperatesthroughtheexistence of a body of clearlydefinedrules; in effect, legal-rationalauthorityattachesentirelytotheofficeanditsformal ‘powers’, and not totheoffice-holder. • Legal-rationalauthorityarisesout of respectforthe ‘rule of law’, in thatpower is alwaysclearlyandlegallydefined, ensuringthatthosewhoexercisepower do sowithin a framework of law.

25. Legitimacy • Legitimacy is usually defined simply as ‘rightfulness’. • Legitimacy is the quality that transforms naked power into rightful authority; it confers upon an order or command an authoritative or binding character, ensuring that it is obeyed out of duty rather than because of fear. •  The terms of legitimacy and authority sometimes be used synonymously; however people are said to have authority whereas it is political systems that are described as legitimate.

26. Differentopinionsanddefinationsaboutlegitimacy • Weber: a belief in the ‘right to rule’, a belief in legitimacy; providing its peoples are prepared to comply, a system of rule can be described as legitimate. • Aristotle: the rule was legitimate only when it operated to the benefit of the whole society rather than in the selfish interests of the rulers. • Rousseau: Government was legitimate if it was based upon the ‘general will’.

27. DavidBeetham: TheLegitimation of Power • power can be said to be legitimate only if three conditions are fulfilled.

28. 1) power must be exercised according to established rules, whether embodied in formal legal codes or informal conventions. • 2) these rules must be justified in terms of the shared beliefs of the government and the governed • 3) Legitimacy must be demonstrated by the expression of consent on the part of the governed. Following Beetham, it can be argued that legitimacy is conferred only upon regimes that exercise power according to established and accepted principles, notably regimes that rule on the basis of popular consent.

29. Constitutionalismandconsent • Liberal democracy is - its supporters argue - is able to guarantee continued legitimacy by ensuring that government is exercised in accordance with the wishes, preferences and interests of the general public •  Such regimes operate within certain ‘rules of power’, taking the form of some kind of constitution. • These ensure that individual liberty is protected and government power is constrained. •  Liberal democracies provide a basis for popular consent in the form of regular, open and competitive elections.

30. Definition of Constitution • Simply, the rules which govern the government. • Sets of the rules which allocate duties, powers and functions to the various institutions of government and define the relationship between individuals and the state.

31. In so doing, constitutions define and limit government power, preventing government acting simply as it chooses. •  Constitutions confer legitimacy upon a regime by making government a rule-bound activity. Constitutional governments therefore exercise legal-rational authority; their powers are authorized by constitutional law.

32. The mere existence of a constitution does not in itself ensure that government power is rightfully exercised.A constitution confers legitimacy only when its principles reflect values and beliefs which are widely held in society • Constitutional governments may nevertheless fail to establish legitimacy if they do not, in some way, ensure that government rests upon the consent or agreement of the people. The idea of consent arose out of social contract theory and the belief that government had somehow arisen out of a voluntary agreement undertaken by free individuals.

33. IdeologicalHegemony • The conventional image of liberal democracies is that they enjoy legitimacy because, on the one hand, they respect individual liberty and, on the other, they are responsive to public opinion. • However, critics suggest that constitutionalism and democracy are little more than a facade concealing the domination of a ‘power elite’ or ‘ruling class’.

34. MILIBAND: liberal democracy = capitalist democracy; it serves the interests of private property and ensure the long-term stability of capitalism.

35. So radikal thinkers in the Marxist and anarchist traditions adopted a more critical approach to the legitimation process, one which emphasizes the degree to which legitimacy is produced by ideological manipulation and indoctrination. • Ideological control can be used to maintain stability and build legitimacy (the capacity to manipulate human needs)

36. Example: totalitarian regimes which propagate an ‘official ideology’ and ruthlessly suppress all rival creeds, doctrines and beliefs. • education is reduced to a process of ideological indoctrination • the mass media is turned into a propaganda machine • ‘unreliable’ beliefs are strictly censored • political opposition is brutally stamped out, and so on.

37. However, Marxists claim to identify a similar process at work within liberal democracies. • Despite the existence of competitive party systems, autonomous pressure groups, a free press and constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties, Marxists argue that liberal democracies are dominated by ‘bourgeois ideology’.

38. Ideology • In the Marxist tradition, ‘ideology’ denotes sets of ideas which tend to conceal the contradictions upon which all class societies were based. Ideologies therefore propagate falsehood, delusion and mystification. • Ideology thus operates in the interests of a ‘ruling class’, which controls the process of intellectual production as completely as it controls the process of material production.

39. modern Marxists have clearly acknowledged that cultural, ideological and political competition does exist, but stress that this competition is unequal, • Such indoctrination may, in fact, be far more successful precisely because it operates behind the illusion of free speech, open competition and political pluralism.

40. Antonio Gramsci who drew attention to the degree to which the class system was upheld not simply by unequal economic and political power but also by what he termed bourgeois ‘hegemony’, the ascendancy or domination of bourgeois ideas in every sphere of life.

41. Legitimationcrises • The circumstances in which the legitimacy of a regime is called into question and, ultimately, collapses.

42. JurgenHabermas • within liberal democracies there are ‘crisis tendencies’ which challenge the stability of such regimes by undermining legitimacy.

43. The core of this argument was the tension between a private-enterprise or capitalist economy, on one hand, and a democratic political system, on the other; in effect, the system of capitalist democracy may be inherently unstable • the electoral mechanism allows liberal democracies to adjust policy in response to competing demands, thus enabling the system as a whole to retain a high degree of legitimacy, even though particular policies may attract criticism and provoke unpopularity.