Political Concepts of Power and Authority

1. Political Concepts of Power and Authority

2. Objective: • To investigate and understand the political concepts of power and authority.

3. What is Power? • Political power, is the ability to make and carry out decisions, is dependent on certain sources of power. • The exercise of power therefore involves such processes as force, coercion, manipulation, bargaining or persuasion.

4. What is Authority? • Authority suggests consent and legitimacy. Power suggests force violence and a lack of consent. • It is useful to remember the phrase: “Authority is legitimate power”.

5. What makes authority legitimate? • According to Max Weber (Sociologist) people give their consent to the rule of three different types of authority: • Charismatic • Traditional • Legal Rational

6. Charismatic Authority • People consent o be ruled by people with special human qualities. • Such qualities inspire loyalty and obedience. • Examples throughout history include: • Napoleon • Hitler • Gandhi

7. Traditional Authority • Some people accept the power and rule of others because there is a long standing tradition of things being like that. • The British Royal family could be said to have traditional authority. • Similarly a society that venerates age (where elders rule) often does so on the grounds of tradition.

8. Rational Legal Authority • In modern societies authority is made legitimate by the acceptance of an established set of sensible rules, laws and procedures by the majority of the population. • For example the authority of Parliament and the Prime Minster.

9. Real Authority • Most people and organizations in authority have elements of all three of Max Weber’s different types of authority. • Why do we obey traffic lights?

10. The End