Power (social and political)

Social and political power as a multifaceted concept. Top-left: The Great Hall of the People, the central state building used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Top-right: in the 2021 Henley Passport Index, Japan had the most visa-free access of any country through their passport agreements to 193 destinations; an example of soft power. Bottom-left: a chain gang of prisoners serving their sentences under the authority of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the United States. Bottom-right: statue of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama near Moneygall, Ireland; an example of cultural power.

In political science, power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors.^[1] Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions).^[1]^[2]

Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters, etc.), and discursive forms, as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others.^[1]

The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust; however, power can also be seen as good and as something inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help, move, and empower others as well.

Scholars^{[citation needed]} have distinguished the differences between soft power and hard power.

^ ^a ^b ^c Barnett, Michael; Duvall, Raymond (2005). "Power in International Politics". International Organization. 59 (1): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0020818305050010. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 3877878. S2CID 3613655.
^ Finnemore, Martha; Goldstein, Judith (2013), "Puzzles about Power", Back to Basics: State Power in a Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199970087.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-997008-7, retrieved 9 April 2022

[:0-1] Barnett, Michael; Duvall, Raymond (2005). "Power in International Politics". International Organization. 59 (1): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0020818305050010. ISSN 0020-8183. JSTOR 3877878. S2CID 3613655.

[2] Finnemore, Martha; Goldstein, Judith (2013), "Puzzles about Power", Back to Basics: State Power in a Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199970087.003.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-997008-7, retrieved 9 April 2022

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