POLI 111: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE Session Two: Basic Concepts of Politics, Part 1 Lecturer: Dr. Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, Department of Political Science Contact information : aggreydarkoh@ug.edu.gh
Session Overview Concepts are building blocks of knowledge Like any branch of human endeavor or knowledge, politics also has its own essential vocabulary In this session, we are going to cover some of the fundamental concepts of politics These are sometimes abstract models or ideal types which only approximate to the reality they help to understand
Section Outline In this session, four fundamental concepts of politics are discussed. These are: power authority legitimacy Order
Reading List Chapter 1 of Magstadt T.M. & Schotten P. M. (1996). Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues. New York: St. Martin s Press. Chapter 1 Roskin M.G. et. al. (1991). Political Science: An Introduction 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall International Inc., 1991).
Topic One Power
What is Political Power? Political power is the most central concept in politics Power is so central to the understanding of politics that fierce controversy surrounds its meaning Power has sometimes been misused by politicians for their selfish interests Because of the misuse and sometimes abuse of power, there remains widespread concern about its use Such concerns are particularly apparent in deep and recurrent disagreements about the distribution of power within the state
What is Political Power? (cont d) Certain key questions must be pondered over as you go through this concept. These include: Is power distributed widely and evenly dispersed among the various segments of society? Is power concentrated in the hands of few, a power elite, or ruling class? Is a political power essentially benign, enabling people to achieve their collective goals?, Is it a form of oppression or domination? In the words of Lord Acton Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupt absolutely
What is Political Power? (cont d) The word power comes from the Latin word potere meaning to be able In its broadest sense, power is being able to, physically or intellectually or both, to achieve what one want Some may use force or coercion to get what they want Others may control others through sheer intellectual superiority
What is Political Power? (cont d) In a more specific sense, power is the ability to cause others to do what one desires using means ranging from influence to coercion According Robert Dahl, power is a question of who gets their way, how often they get their way, and over what issues they get their way To Andrew Heywood, power is the ability to achieve a desired outcome through whatever means Power is the means through which the struggle over scarce resources is conducted Heywood maintains that in politics, power is usually thought of as a relationship, that is as the ability of influencing the behavior of others in a manner not of their choosing
Resources of Power Individuals and groups who exercise political power exhibit certain characteristics. While some are material and easily identified, others are more subtle These characteristics include: wealth weaponry access to force (military and police) communication skills social status and high education good personality reputation for making good judgment and personal charisma or magnetism
Authority Authority is the right to rule It exists when subordinates acknowledge the right of superiors to give orders Authority confers legitimacy on power Authority is legitimized power Whereas power is the ability to influence the behavior of others, authority is the right to do so
Authority (cont d) Authority is based on an acknowledged duty to obey rather than on any form of coercion or manipulation Authority is government s power to make binding decisions and issue obligatory commands To acknowledge the authority of rulers does not mean that you agree with their decision. It means only that you accept their right to make decisions and your duty to obey them
Authority (cont d) Authority is also the right or the capacity or both to have proposals or prescriptions or instructions accepted without recourse to persuasion, bargaining, or force Authority is critical to the practice of government in that in the absence of willing compliance, governments can only maintain order by the use of fear, intimidation, and violence This situation may be the case of the existence of power without authority
Authority (cont d) Governments have the authority to maintain domestic stability and promote the public the public good. Citizens obey laws because they agree that their government has the authority to make decisions
Types of Authority-Traditional Authority According to a German sociologist, Max Weber, authority stems from three main sources: 1.In traditional authority, authority is rooted in custom and history Deference and obedience is owed because of the bloodline It is mostly gained through inheritance as in the case of dynasties, monarchies, or chieftaincy institutions In traditional authority, the present is viewed as sacrosanct, eternal, and inviolable The dominant person or group, usually defined by heredity is thought to have been pre-ordained to rule over the rest
Legal-Rational Authority Legal-rational authority is also called bureaucratic authority Under this type, authority is vested in the office held by the individual and the mechanisms that placed them there and not the person It is a type of authority that place emphasis on office and functions and not personalities Legal-rational authority is the direct opposite of the charismatic authority
Charismatic Authority The word charisma is of Christian origin and it refers to divinely bestowed power It is a form of gift of grace, reflected in the power which Jesus the Christ exerted over his disciples Historical examples of charismatic leaders include, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Adolf Hitler, Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela, etc. This type of authority stems from personality It is based on popular admiration for the personal heroic qualities of the individual in whom it is vested
Charismatic Authority (cont d) Here leaders are obeyed because they inspire their followers, who normally credit the leaders with exceptional qualities Charismatic leadership is inherently short-lived unless the authority figure can transfer his authority into a more permanent office or institution. This process is called routinization of charisma
Circumstances Surrounding the Exercise of Authority Herbert Simon described the circumstances surrounding the exercise of power as Sanctions of Authority. He provided five reasons to explain why subordinates obey their superiors 1. Social Sanctions: society normally sets standards of behavior expected of its members and sanctions those who undermine these standards 2. Psychological Differences: some people have the personality to lead, while others follow. There is therefore, flow of authority in a superior-subordinate relationship
Circumstances Surrounding the Exercise of Authority (cont d) 3. Purpose: In situations where the members of an organization are committed to the purpose that organization serves, they are willing to obey commands 4. Job, Economic Security, and Status: As long as obedience is the surest way to secure ones job, economic security, and status, obedience is readily provided. 5. Acceptance of Responsibility: Given certain jobs, some people prefer to be directed rather than making the decision themselves
Limits and Use of Authority Authority in a given area is limited, however, authority can be used to: 1.Enforce conformity with the laid down rules 2.Secure expertise in the making of decisions 3.Ensure the coordination of activities
Legitimacy The term legitimacy (from the Latin legitimere, meaning to declare lawful), broadly means rightfulness Legitimacy is a property that a regime s procedures for making and enforcing laws are acceptable to its subjects or citizens The ability to issue commands which are seen as binding because they are legitimate is one of the central pillars of a stable political order
Legitimacy (cont d) According to Heywood, legitimacy is the quality that transforms naked power into rightful authority; it confers upon an order or command, an authoritative binding character, ensuring that, it is obeyed out of duty rather than because of fear In Ghana, people may obey the laws or commands of President Mahama not out of fear but by virtue of the fact that he has the authority to rule
Legitimacy (cont d) There is a close relationship between legitimacy and authority. The two terms are sometimes used synonymously People are said to have authority, whereas it is a political system or a regime that is described as legitimate In absence of legitimacy, government can only be sustained by fear, intimidation and violence As J. J. Rousseau put it The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master unless he transforms strength into right and obedience into duty
Legitimacy (cont d) In a book The legitimation of Power (1961), David Beetham maintains that power can only be legitimate if three conditions are fulfilled. These are: Power must be exercised according to established rules either in legal codes or informal conventions These rules must be justified in terms of the shared beliefs of the government and governed Legitimacy must be demonstrated by the expression of consent on the part of the governed
How do Regimes Loose their Legitimacy? Most empires are hardly ever accepted as legitimate by their subjects Political regimes begin to lose legitimacy when rulers start to doubt the beliefs and values justifying their rule When the regime consistently fails to address certain fundamental rights in the society, like the right to life, liberty, and property
How Regimes Achieve Legitimacy When a government exist for a long time. Long established governments are generally well respected by their citizens A government can also gain legitimacy by governing well by providing for the needs of the people
Influence Influence is the capacity of actors to determine partly the actions or choices of other actors within the set of action or choice of alternatives available to those actors Influence occurs wherever behavior leads to change in behavior It has been argued by Lasswell and Kaplan (1950, p.76) that it is the threat of sanctions which differentiates power from influence in general
Influence (cont d) Influence can be characterized as the possibility to determine the outcomes of behaviors of others, without the restriction or expansion of their freedom of action The exercise of influence takes place mainly by means of persuasion, information, and advice The most important, if not the only, source of influence is in particular associated with strategic locations in the communication and information networks that other actors use for the determination of their behavior
Relation Between Influence and Power In principle, we can conceive power to exist without influence Influence is power in action Though the two are very similar, power and influence are different concepts Thus, power is the capacity to exercise influence
Relation Between Influence and Power (cont d) There are roughly two reasons why it is difficult to distinguish between power and influence in practical situations Power can be a source of influence and influence a source of power Processes occur whereby positions of influence are transformed into positions of power or conversely, positions of power into positions of influence