"Power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors."
The study of how power is distributed within societies and how this affects social relations, political institutions and economic systems.
Social Stratification: The hierarchical arrangement of people into different classes or social groups based on factors like economic status, occupation, education, and other criteria.
Elite Theory: An approach to understanding power relations that emphasizes the role of a small, privileged group in shaping political and social systems.
Power and Authority: The concept of power and authority deals with the ways in which individuals or groups can exert control over others in a given context.
Political Economy: The study of the interactions between economic and political systems, and their effects on social power relations.
Ideology: The set of beliefs or values that shape the way people view the world and interact with others, usually in a way that reinforces existing power relations.
Historical Materialism: The idea that social relations are shaped by economic and material factors, and that historical change arises from conflicts between different social classes.
Intersectionality: The idea that social identity categories like race, gender, and sexuality intersect and interact with one another in complex ways to shape social power relations.
Colonialism and Postcolonialism: The history of colonialism and its legacy in shaping contemporary global power relations, and the ways in which formerly colonized nations resist dominant power structures.
Social Movements: Groups of people who come together to challenge existing power relations and advocate for social change.
Feminist Theory: A set of ideas and approaches that emphasize the ways in which gender shapes social power relations, and aim to challenge and transform gender-based inequalities.
Colonialism: The domination of one country by another through political, economic, and social control.
Feudalism: A social and economic system in which a ruling class owns and controls the land and the labor of the peasants.
Slavery: Ownership of another person for labor or other purposes, usually based on race, often enforced through violence.
Mercantilism: A system in which a country's economic power and survival were thought to depend on its trade and wealth, often achieved through colonization and the exploitation of resources.
Capitalism: A system in which private individuals or corporations own and control the means of production, labor, and capital for profit.
Patriarchy: A social system in which men hold primary power and authority over women, often enforced through laws, customs, and culture.
Racism: Systematic discrimination against a particular race or ethnic group, often through laws, policies, and practices that limit their social, economic, and political power.
Class struggle: A conflict between different classes over wealth, status, and power, often leading to political and social revolution.
Nationalism: The belief and promotion of shared identity and culture among people of a particular nation or state, frequently resulting in tensions and conflict with other groups.
Imperialism: The policy and practice of extending a nation's political and economic control over other territories or countries, often through military force or economic coercion.
"Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another."
"Power may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions)."
"Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another."
"Discursive forms of power exist as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others."
"The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure."
"Power can be seen as evil or unjust; however, power can also be seen as good and as something inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help, move, and empower others as well."
"Scholars have distinguished between soft power and hard power."
"Power is the social production of an effect that determines the capacities, actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors."
"Power may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions)."
"Power takes structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another."
"Categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others."
"The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure."
"Power can be seen as evil or unjust; however, power can also be seen as good."
"Power can be inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help, move, and empower others."
"Power can also be seen as good and as something inherited or given for exercising humanistic objectives that will help, move, and empower others."
"Scholars have distinguished between soft power and hard power."
"Power may take structural forms, discursive forms, and can be exerted through diffuse means."
"Power orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters...)."
"The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure."