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Organizations and their effectiveness-2016/Key concept definitions
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== Power == === Dan W === '''Definition:''' The probability that one can carry out some desire on the basis of resource dependence, legitimacy, or normative commitment in a social setting despite potential resistance to that desire. (Inspired by: Weber (1905), Cook and Emerson (1983)) ''Important elements of my definition:'' - “social setting” - power is only meaningful when one can exercise it over at least one other person. - “potential resistance” - the other party in a social setting need not actively resist the use of power for power to be manifest. - “resource dependence” - Source #1 of power: the other party depends on a focal individual for some resource, which is why the focal individual can exercise power despite the other party’s resistance. - “legitimacy” - Source #2 of power: the other party acknowledges the widespread legitimacy of the focal individual’s power, even if the other party disagrees with the individual’s use of it. - “normative commitment” - Source #3 of power: the other party disavows the legitimacy of an individual’s power and does not rely on the individual for some resource, but can exercise no real challenge because the individual’s incumbency is woven into the very norms that guide social action. ''Example:'' - All of Dan Carpenter's readings?? === Consuelo === I am including a general definition of “power” (power as a relation among people by Robert Dahl) and another one of “political power” as consent (by Gene Sharp), which I mentioned when we did introductions on the first day. Power as a relation among people (Robert Dahl) “A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do… [P]ower is a relation, and … it is a relation among people. Let us call the objects in the relationship of power, actors. Actors may be individuals, groups, roles, offices, governments, nation-states, or other human aggregates. To specify the actors in a power relation—A has power over B—is not very interesting, informative, or even accurate. Although the statement that the President has (some) power over Congress is not empty, neither is it very useful. A much more complete statement would include references to (a) the source, domain, or base of the President’s power over Congress; (b) the means or instruments used by the President to exert power over Congress; (c) the amount or extent of his power over Congress; and (d) the range or scope of his power over Congress.” (Dahl, 202-3) Example: most work in political science. See Schelling’s Arms and Influence (1966) Consent theory of power (Gene Sharp) Gene Sharp’s definition of political power: it’s pluralistic in the sense that it resides “with a variety of groups and in a diversity of locations, which he calls ‘loci of power.’ The loci of power provide a countervailing force against the power of the ruler, especially when the loci are numerous and widely distributed throughout society.” (Martin 1989, 214) The ruler’s power flows from the “obedience and cooperation of the subjects.” (Sharp 1973, 12) Example: this is the definition of power that forms the basis of civil resistance, people power, and nonviolent social movements. See Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan’s Why Civil Resistance Works (2011) === Mara === Power is the #1 obsession in IR, so it's difficult to formulate a one-sentence definition. But roughly, I think the various understanding of power can be distilled along two dimensions. 1) "Materialist/Agentic": in the sense that power is something agents possess and exert; having “power over” *The most famous example here is Dahl’s (1957) definition: power is “power is the ability of A to get B to do something he or she would otherwise not do” However, this reflects a rather limited conception since it views power as: agentic; direct (A acts on B); intentional (A means to do something to B); compulsive/coercive; and requiring a change in behavior, which assumes that the effects of power will be observable & measurable. To address some of these limitations, we can bring in a second dimension of power 2) "Relational/Constitutive": power is something that creates agents and defines them in relation to one another; having “power to”. *The best summary here is Barnett & Duvall (2005), who develop a 2x2 typology: [[File:barnett&duvall2005.png]] **"Compulsory power": direct control by one actor over another in relations of interaction (Dahlian power) **"Institutional power": control actors exercise over others indirectly & diffusely over within formal & informal institutions—i.e. exercise of power via institutional rules that prescribe and proscribe certain conduct; actors control others in indirect ways (ex. agenda-setting power) **"Structural power": constitution of subjects’ identities, capacities and interests in direct, dialectic social relation to one another (e.g. master/slave dialectic, civilized/uncivilized) (Hegel) **"Productive power": socially-diffuse production of subjectivity in systems of meaning and signification that shapes all actors alike in their environment (not in direct relation to one another)—i.e. constitution of all subjects together through various systems of knowledge and discursive practices, and networks of social forces perpetually shaping one another (e.g. categories like “civilized” or “terrorist”) (Foucault) === Mike === This is not a formal definition, but it is illustrative of how some economists think about power. In a situation in which there are two or more people with conflicting preferences over a decision to be made, a person has "all the power" if their preferred decision is made. Compromises can of course result in decisions that are not the preferred decision of any person involved, so in many situation, nobody has "all the power." (Though according to this definition, in any single-person decision problem, the decision-maker has "all the power.") A person has "more power" if the decision made is something they prefer to the decision that would be made if they had "less power." Sources of power in economics: (1) patience and risk tolerance in bargaining (these are the standard components of "bargaining power" in models of bargaining), (2) information (for a particularly clear illustration, see Aghion and Tirole (1997) on "real authority" in which a formal decision-maker makes my preferred decision if I am informed, she is not, and she prefers making my recommended decision to inaction or taking a stab in the dark. Models of delegation, going back to at least Simon (1951)--although I'm not sure others view his model as a model of delegation, are also relevant here.), (3) possession of legally granted control rights (see Grossman and Hart (1986) and Hart and Moore (1990) for a clean operationalization), (4) commitment power (this is akin to the "first-mover advantage," and it begs the question of where commitment power comes from), (5) rewards for past performance (see Li, Matouschek, and Powell (2016)).
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