Power, Social And Political Theories Of

At the most general level, most social and political theorists conceive of the study of power as both, the analysis of the capacity of individuals to make others do things that they would not otherwise do, and the study of the social relationships that sustain that capacity. Even within the confines of the tradition of Western social and political thought there is no one single social and political theory of power that everyone accepts as the only true and valid one. In the first half of our analysis we shall examine two of the big theories of power: the three-dimensional power debate and Foucault's perception of power. This will be followed by an overview position bringing together these perceptions of power in combination with insights from the work of Max Weber, Anthony Giddens, Stewart Clegg, Barry Barnes, and Mark Haugaard among others. In this analysis every effort will be made to clarify not only the workings of power but also the relationship between power and other related concepts such as violence, coercion, and peace.