Political Sociology: Understanding Power

• Study notes on Chapter 1 Power: The Key Concept in Political Sociology and The Conceptualization of Power in Political Sociology, and The Traditional Frameworks_and_1.4 New Directions After the Traditional Framework

Definition of Power

• Power is the capacity of an individual, group, or structure to achieve intended effects using force, influence, or authority.

Classical Foundations of Power (Karl Marx and Max Weber)

• Karl Marx: Power is tied to the ownership of resources and the structure of the economy determines resource distribution where economic dominance translates to political and social power, like in capitalism.
• Max Weber: Power is institutionalized within formal systems, such as organizations, bureaucracies, and social institutions like religion and law, rooted in formal rules and procedures, exercised through rational legal authority and obedience to laws.

Typologies of Power

• Power manifests differently based on societal structures.
• Three key types categorize how power is exercised and influences behavior: Coercive and Dominant, Authority and Legitimate, and Interdependent.

Coercive and Dominant Power

• Involves imposing one's will through fear or manipulation to control others' actions.
• Exercised through force, threats, or intimidation, exemplified by North Korea's totalitarian dictatorship and Philippine Martial Law.

Authority and Legitimate Power

• Power that people accept as rightful.
• Anchored in the belief that the rules are just, fair, and meant to serve the common good.
• Consists of Traditional, Charismatic, and Rational-Legal Authority.

Traditional Authority

• Legitimacy derived through custom and tradition.
• Seen as part of cultural or historical heritage with tribal leaders in indigenous communities acting as examples.

Charismatic Authority

• Stems from the personality or character of leaders.
• People follow due to conviction, heroic status, or achievements, as seen in Rodrigo Duterte's perceived leadership.

Rational-Legal Authority

• Stems from laws, rules, and decisions accepted as valid by all in society.
• Elected officials derive legitimacy from the Constitution.

Interdependent Power

• Based on mutual reliance between individuals or groups.
• Ability to influence each other through cooperation, negotiation, or shared interests.
• Involves reciprocal influence, both enabling and constraining, like the relationship between NGOs and the government.

The Conceptualization of Power in Political Sociology

• Three frameworks of power in Political Sociology are Pluralist, Elite-Managerial, and Social-Class.
• They offer different views on power distribution, political organization, and societal roles.

Pluralist

• Views power as fragmented across diverse interest groups and organizations.
• Emphasizes competition and negotiation, with no single group dominating the political process.

Contemporary Pluralist Approach

• Builds on classical ideas while recognizing systemic inequalities and power dynamics.
• Acknowledges power distribution shaped by wealth, access to resources, and institutional influence.
• Recognizes the role of global structures and transnational organizations.

Elite Managerial

• Asserts power is concentrated in small elite groups, rather than widely distributed.
• Argues elites or technocrats with expertise and managerial skills are best-equipped to govern.
• Suggests decision-making should be left to experts, as the broader population is less capable.

Contemporary Elite Managerial Approach

• Recognizes the influence of global elites in shaping national and international policy.
• Emphasis on role of technocrats in addressing modern social problems like climate change and artificial intelligence regulation.

Social-Class

• Argues economic class as the primary determinant of power.
• Notes economic inequality leads to unequal power distribution, with wealthy elites having significant influence and working/lower classes having limited access to power.
• Sees the working class as capable of challenging elite power through collective action and class struggle.

Three Distinct Social-Class Approaches

• Structuralism emphasizes how economic and social structures influence power distribution.
• Political Consciousness emphasizes the role of class-based awareness in shaping political behavior.
• Critical Class Theory critiques capitalism by examining power, exploitation, and class conflict.

Structuralism

• The capitalist system inherently benefits the elite and restricts the political influence of lower classes.
• Creates systemic inequalities, exemplified by gentrification.

Political Consciousness

• The working class, once aware of its exploitation, can unite to challenge elite power through collective action.
• Evident in activist movements like Bayan Muna or labor strikes.

Critical Class Theory

• Critiques capitalism by examining how power, exploitation, and class conflict manifest.
• Advocates for social change by addressing class inequality and challenging ideologies that justify elite control, such as progressive groups critiquing the TRAIN Law.

The Traditional Frameworks Today

• Three traditional frameworks to think about power: Pluralist, Elite-Managerial, and Social-Class.
• Pluralist Perspective: Power is spread out among different groups competing with each other.
• Elite-Managerial Perspective: Power is controlled by a small group of elites.
• Social-Class Perspective: Power comes from economic inequality, with the wealthy holding more control.

Criticisms of Pluralist Perspective

• Limited Global Application: Research building the pluralist framework was based on U.S. democratic society, few tests of the pluralist model in a global context exist.
• Assumption of Equal Access: Assumes equal access to political groups and associations across state and public spheres.
• Bias Toward High-Status Individuals: Those who join political groups or vote tend to come from higher-status, wealthier, or more privileged segments of society.
• Polarization Instead of Consensus: Political group competition often leads to divisions instead of creating agreement.
• Bureaucracy Over Democracy: Experts, bureaucrats, and policy professionals have more influence over the state than the general public.

Criticisms of Elite-Managerial Perspective

• Lack of Elite Cohesion: Ambiguous as to whether elites are cohesive enough to rule as a single unity.
• Masses' Power to Challenge Elites: Masses still have some power to challenge elites.
• Over-Simplified Elite-Masses Model: Traditional elite-masses dichotomy is too simplistic as new layers of power emerge with education and middle-class growth.

Criticisms of Class Perspective

• Overlooks key social factors such as gender, age, or political issues.
• Non-economic influences on politics, can be shaped by other aspects of social change and social life.
• Unable to explain the rise of new groups, such as elites of managers, who don't necessarily come from traditional class backgrounds.

Steven Lukes' Three Dimensions of Power

• First Dimension: Observable power and decision-making
• Second Dimension: Agenda-setting and exclusion of issues
• Third Dimension: Invisible power, shaping beliefs and societal norms

Observable Power

• Politics seen as the observable exertion of power with tangible outcomes of decisions.

Agenda-Setting

• Uncovers the less visible role of agenda setters who exert influence over what is on the table for deliberation.

Invisible Power

• Cultural and hegemonic forces shape beliefs and values, altering decision outcomes in agenda setting.

New Directions After the Traditional Frameworks

• Challenges for political sociologists at the beginning of the twenty-first century involve "Where to put culture" in the study of politics, Rational Choices by Groups and Individuals, and Postmodernism and Hidden Power.
• Four frameworks build alternative metaphors for the social bases of power: Rational Choice, Political Culture, Institutionalist, and Postmodernism.

Rational Choice

• Individuals and groups are moved to action by articulated desires and goals.
• Decisions are made by weighing risks and rewards to achieve the best possible outcome with Decision-making as a strategic calculation aimed at maximizing personal gains, exemplified by political candidates during elections.

Political Culture

• Shared values, beliefs, and norms influence political behavior and attitudes.
• Focus on values and belief systems affecting politics, the nature of ritual, symbolism, and meaning construction in political systems, and agency in shaping political culture from individual understandings of power.
• The Filipino value of "utang na loob" influences political behavior and relationships.

Institutionalist

• Structures include interest groups, unions, organizations, international corporations, and parties, along with the state and associated structures typically with a political focus.
• Political outcomes, such as public policy or political movements, are influenced by organizational and cultural factors.
• Focus on institutions and their rules, practices, and traditions impacting political behavior and policy.
• The enactment of the Universal Health Care Act improved access to healthcare services in the Philippines.

Postmodernism

• Power is decentralized, subtle, and embedded in everyday interactions, language, and social practices.
• It exists in various forms, often hidden in discourse, surveillance, and social norms with surveillance states documenting power shifting to those who control surveillance mechanisms.
• Foucault described how knowing we are being watched causes us to reflect on our actions and behaviors, influencing power dynamics.
• Social media and digital platforms can challenge traditional power structures.