PHILIPPINE POLITICS,
GOVERNMENT AND CITIZENSHIP
WEEK 3: POLITICAL
POWER
MEANING AND NATURE OF POWER
 Power may be explained in different ways because its meaning is
within the context of human relations.We are encountered with many
different explanations in various disciplines. Even within a single social
discipline, power is defined in several different ways.
 Some social scientists define it as the use of force whereas many
others explain it as the capacity to secure the desired goals through
the use of force or threat of use of force or even by exercising
influence.
 According to Morgenthau “Power is the power of man on others”
and as a “man’s control over the minds and actions of other men.”
MEANING OF POWER
 •Another definition is from Schwarzenberger who view power as
“the capacity of one to impose his will on others by reliance on
effective sanctions in case of non-compliance.”
 •Charles P. Schleicher defines power as “the ability to exercise
such control as to make others do what they otherwise would
not do by rewarding or promising to reward them, or by
depriving or threatening to deprive them of something they
value.”
MEANING OF POWER
 In Social Science and Politics, Power is the ability to
influence or outright control the behavior of people.
It is authority when the power is perceived as
legitimate by the social structure. Power may also be
seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is
accepted as reserved only to humans as social
beings.
NATIONAL POWER:
DIMENSIONS, FEATURES
AND EXERCISE
NATIONAL POWER
 National Power is that “combination of power and
capability of a state which the state uses for fulfilling
its national interests and goals” according to
Paddleford and Lincoln.
 To Hartman, national power denotes the ability of a
nation to fulfil national goals, how much powerful or
weak a particular nation in securing them.
NATIONAL POWER
 National Power is simply the ability or capability of a nation
to secure the goals and objectives of its national interests in
relation with other nations. It involves the capacity to use
force or threat of use of force or influence over others for
securing the goals of national interest.
 In this way, we can define National Power as “the ability to
control the behavior of other states in accordance with one’s
own will.” National Power is the currency of international
relations.
NATURE OF NATIONAL
POWER
NATIONAL
 National means pertaining to the nation making national power
the power of a nation. However, in the context of national
power the term ‘nation’ does not mean the same as in Political
Science.
 In the context of national powers, nation stands for the power
of the group of decision makers and authorities who exercise
power on behalf of the nation. It is the power of the decisionmakers who formulate and implement the foreign policy of the
nation and thereby attempt to secure national goals.
POWER
For understanding the nature of
power in the context of National
Power, it is necessary to distinguish
between Power and Force, and
Power and Influence.
POWER AND FORCE:
 Force means physical force, violence in the form of police
action, imprisonment, punishment or war.
 Power means a psychological relationship of control
which is backed by the use of force, or threat of use of
force.
 When physical force, war and other means involving the
use of military power or police power are actually used to
secure certain objectives, power stands replaced by force.
POWER AND INFLUENCE:
 Both involve the ability to produce an intended change or
effect in the behavior of others. However, the two are not the
same. Power involves a use of force or threat of use of force.
Political Power or Legal Power is backed by authority or
sovereignty of the state.
 Influence involves the attempt to change the behavior of
others through persuasion and not by threats or force. The
scope of influence is wider than the scope of power and it is
more democratic than power.
DIMENSIONS OF
NATIONAL POWER
DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL POWER
 The three forms of national power are inseparable
from each other. Without economic power no
nation can develop her military power, and
without the latter no nation can play an active role
in international relations. Psychological power
can be enduringly and really effective only when it is
backed by economic and military power.
1. MILITARY POWER
 Military power is an important dimension of
national power. It is regarded as absolutely
essential for achieving the objective of security
of the nation. For every nation, security is the
most vital element of its national interest. It is
the primary concern of every nation to work
for her security.
MILITARY POWER
 Military power is as such a vital part of national
power. The role and importance of a state in
international relations depends upon its
military power. No state can get recognition as
a super power without being militarily superior.
2. ECONOMIC POWER
 Economic power is the second important dimension of
national power. It is constituted by the ability of a nation to
satisfy its own needs and to control the behavior of other
states by affording or denying access to economic goods and
services.
 The economic means of foreign policy are today the most
vital means which a state can use for influencing the actions
and behavior of other states. No state can become a military
power without having adequate economic power.
ECONOMIC POWER
 Economic power is used by rich and developed
nations to influence other states by granting
them economic aid and loans, and try to secure
their interests in international relations. It is
used as a means to induce as well as to coerce
a desired change in the behavior of other
states.
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL POWER
 Psychological power means the power of
opinion and image of the nation. The role of
propaganda and persuasive negotiations in
international relations have been used by the
states for securing an intended change in the
behavior of other states.
PSYCHOLOGICAL POWER
 By the use of psychological and cultural means
a nation always tries to influence the people
and leaders of other nations. The ability to
influence others through systematic publicity
and educational and cultural relations
constitutes the psychological part of the
national power of a nation.
METHODS OF
EXERCISING NATIONAL
POWER
1. PERSUASION
 The art of persuasion consists in
defining and logically explaining a
particular problem or issue or
dispute to other nations or any
other nation. An attempt is made
to persuade other nations to
adopt a particular and desired
view or perception of the nature
of issues involved in any bilateral
or multilateral problem, dispute or
issue.
 Persuasion is widely used by
diplomats and statesmen for
securing the desired and defined
objectives of the foreign policy.
But success in persuasion can be
achieved only when it is
supplemented by other methods
and when it is supported by a
strong national power and
effective foreign policy.
2. REWARDS
 The offering of rewards can be
material
or
economic
or
psychological. A nation can give
material help to another nation in
times of crisis or in other ways.
 The practice of giving economic aid
and easy loans or grants-in-aid is
another method of winning support
and inducing a change in the
behavior of other states.
 The lease of territories or a military
bases or equipment—industrial or
military, transit and trade facilities
and grant of right to allow passage
of ships are some of the other
forms of rewards which a state can
offer to other states for securing a
desired change in their behaviors.
3. PUNISHMENT
 A powerful nation can inflict punishment on an offending
or unhelpful state by imposing economic sanctions or
norms or policies or placing trade restrictions or
ensuring a denial of a possible reward. Denial or
reduction in foreign aid or loan or refusal to export
certain items or technology can be used by a powerful
nation for inflicting a punishment or pressure on other
nations.
PUNISHMENT
The most effective punishment is the one
which secures the desired objective of a
state without the actual infliction of
punishment on other states. Threat of
punishment is a better method of exercise
of national power than its actual infliction.
4. FORCE OR PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
 By the use of military power or physical force, a powerful
nation can compel a desired behavior of another nation. As a
method of exercising power, force is related to punishment.
 When punitive action is taken against another nation, it
becomes a case of use of force. However, when only threat of
punitive action is given without the actual use of physical
violence against the other state, it becomes a case of exercise
of power through the use of punishment. As such the
difference between force and punishment is in the actual use of
force versus the threat of use of force.
FORCE OR PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
 Physical force or violence can be used by resorting to war
or acts of reprisals by a powerful state. Resort to war is
the extreme form of exercise of force in international
relation. It is a risky and dangerous method, which can
damage the national power of the state which resorts to
war. This consideration makes the resort to war as a
method of last resort.
NATURE AND
DEFINITION OF
AUTHORITY
AUTHORITY
 Authority is “the right or the capacity or both to have proposals or
prescriptions or instructions accepted without recourse to
persuasion, bargaining or force”.
 Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics defines authority as “the
power or right to give orders and enforce obedience, the power to
influence others based on recognized knowledge or expertise.”
 “Authority can most simply be defined as legitimate power.
Authority is, therefore, based on an acknowledged duty to obey
rather than on any form of coercion or manipulation. In this sense
authority is power cloaked in legitimacy or rightfulness”.
TYPES OF
POLITICAL
AUTHORITY
1. TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY
 Traditional
authority is
power that is rooted in
traditional,
or
longstanding,
beliefs
and
practices of a society.
 It exists and is assigned to
particular
individuals
because of that society’s
customs and traditions.
 Traditional
authority
is
legitimated by the sanctity of
tradition. The ability and right to
rule are passed down, often
through heredity. It does not
change overtime, does not
facilitate social change, tends to
be irrational and inconsistent,
and perpetuates the status quo.
TRADITIONAL AUTHORITY
 Traditional authority is typically embodied in feudalism
or patrimonialism. In a purely patriarchal structure, “the
servants are completely and personally dependent upon
the lord”, while in an estate system (i.e., feudalism), “the
servants are not personal servants of the lord but
independent men” (Weber 1958, 4). But, in both cases
the system of authority does not change or evolve.
2. CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY
 Charismatic
authority stems
from
an
individual’s
extraordinary
personal
qualities and
from that
individual’s hold over followers
because of these qualities.
 Such charismatic individuals
may exercise authority over a
whole society or only a specific
group within a larger society.
 They can exercise authority for
good and for bad, as this brief list of
charismatic leaders indicates: Joan
of Arc, Adolf Hitler, Mahatma
Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus
Christ, Muhammad, and Buddha.
Each of these individuals had
extraordinary personal qualities
that led their followers to admire
them and to follow their orders or
requests for action.
CHARISMATIC AUTHORITY
 Charismatic authority is found in a leader whose
mission and vision inspire others. It is based upon the
perceived extraordinary characteristics of an individual.
Weber saw a charismatic leader as the head of a new
social movement, and one instilled with divine or
supernatural powers, such as a religious prophet. Weber
seemed to favor charismatic authority, and spent a good
deal of time discussing it.
3. LEGAL-RATIONAL AUTHORITY
 Legal-Rational authority derives from
law and is based on a belief in the
legitimacy of a society’s laws and rules
and in the right of leaders to act under
these rules to make decisions and set
policy.
 This form of authority is a hallmark of
modern democracies, where power is
given to people elected by voters, and
the rules for wielding that power are
usually set forth in a constitution, a
charter, or another written document.
 Legal-rational
authority
is
empowered by a formalistic belief
in the content of the law (legal) or
natural
law
(rationality).
Obedience is not given to a
specific individual leader - whether
traditional or charismatic - but a
set of uniform principles. Weber
thought the best example of legalrational
authority
was
a
bureaucracy
(political
or
economic).
LEGAL-RATIONAL AUTHORITY
 This form of authority is frequently found in the modern
state, city governments, private and public corporations,
and various voluntary associations. In fact, Weber stated
that the “development of the modern state is identical
indeed with that of modern officialdom and bureaucratic
organizations just as the development of modern
capitalism
is
identical
with
the
increasing
bureaucratization of economic enterprise.