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Authority
Government
Power
Legitimacy
Public good
Nation-state
Sovereignty
Politics
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How much of the time do you think you can
trust the government in Washington to do
what is right?
◦ Just about always
◦ Most of the time
◦ Some of the time
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Just about always – 5%
Most of the time – 25%
Only some of the time – 66%
Never – 4%
◦ Why do many people not trust their government?
◦ Is this attitude justified?
◦ We need to figure out what gov’t is and what it
does.
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Definitions:
◦ The possibility of imposing one’s will on the
behavior of other persons
◦ The ability to cause others to behave as they might
not otherwise choose to do.
◦ The capacity to get other people to do things that
contribute to what we want
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Formal authority – power comes from the
power holder’s position and duties within an
organization.
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Persuasion
◦ Power comes from a person’s ability to persuade or
influence others
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Rewards
◦ Power comes from the holder of power’s ability to
give something of value, such as money,
responsibility or praise
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Expertise
Power comes from power holder’s specific
skills or expertise
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Coercion
◦ Power comes from the power holder’s ability to
punish or penalize others
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Write a story in which a person that
you create encounters three situations
in which someone exercises three
different sources of power.
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Leaders whose power and authority to rule
are accepted by the people are said to have
legitimacy.
◦ Rises or falls based on the willingness of
those being led to follow that leader
Protecting Life and Property
 Maintaining Public Order
 Providing public goods
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Two characteristics of a public good:
◦ More than one person can consume them
without reducing the amount available to
others
◦ Once made available, all have the right to
use it
 Examples: Street light schools, roads, fire and
police
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Politics has a purpose – everything is done for
a reason
Political activity involves working with others
People need to accept compromise