12 Feb 2009
The Brahma Kumaris, a politico-religious movement; its relationship to the nature of power and practise thereof.
Part One: the nature of power and 'soft power', adopted from "The Benefits of Soft Power" by Joseph S. Nye Jr., ex-Dean of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and some Wikipedia articles etc.
Power is a measure of a person's or group's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people. The term authority is often used for power, perceived as legitimate by the social structure. The exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. Where they are humans, there are games of power being played.
Power may be held through:
Hard power is military and economic might, getting others to change their position by force either inducements ("carrots") or threats ("sticks"). The indirect way to get what you want has sometimes been called "the second face of power".
Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others. Leadership is not just a matter of issuing commands, but also involves leading by example and attracting others to do what you want.
Political leaders have long understood the power that comes from attraction. If I can get you to want to do what one wants, then one does not have to use carrots or sticks to make them do it. The ability to establish preferences tends to be associated with intangible assets such as an attractive personality, culture, political values and institutions, and policies that are seen as legitimate or having moral authority. If a leader represents values that others want to follow, it will cost less to lead.
Soft power is not merely the same as influence but is more than just persuasion or the ability to move people by argument. It is also the ability to attract, and attraction often leads to acquiescence. sSft power is attractive power. Soft power resources are the assets that produce such attraction. It uses different types of currencies; an attraction to shared values, the justness and duty of contributing to the achievement of those values, religious connotations, the use of archetypes and so on.
The basic concept of power is the ability to affect others to get the outcomes you want.
There are three major ways to do that:
The idea is not new and can be dated back to philosophers as Lao Tsu in the 7th century BC, however the concept was described in the context of international relations theory by Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, in a 1990 book, 'Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power' and 'Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics'. The term is now widely used.
Soft power rests primarily on three resources:
Part One: the nature of power and 'soft power', adopted from "The Benefits of Soft Power" by Joseph S. Nye Jr., ex-Dean of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and some Wikipedia articles etc.
Power is a measure of a person's or group's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people. The term authority is often used for power, perceived as legitimate by the social structure. The exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. Where they are humans, there are games of power being played.
Power may be held through:
- • delegated authority (for example in the democratic process)
• social class (material wealth can equal power)
• personal or group charisma
• ascribed power (assumed abilities, whether these bear testing or not)
• expertise (ability, skills)
• persuasion (direct, indirect, or subliminal)
• knowledge (granted or withheld, shared or kept secret)
• money (financial influence, control of labour, control through ownership)
• fame
• force (violence, military might, coercion).
• moral persuasion (religion)
• application of non-violence (intervention or noncooperation)
• operation of group dynamics (public relations)
• social influence of tradition (ascribed power)
• the play of domination and submissiveness in relationships at an individual level
Hard power is military and economic might, getting others to change their position by force either inducements ("carrots") or threats ("sticks"). The indirect way to get what you want has sometimes been called "the second face of power".
Soft power rests on the ability to shape the preferences of others. Leadership is not just a matter of issuing commands, but also involves leading by example and attracting others to do what you want.
Political leaders have long understood the power that comes from attraction. If I can get you to want to do what one wants, then one does not have to use carrots or sticks to make them do it. The ability to establish preferences tends to be associated with intangible assets such as an attractive personality, culture, political values and institutions, and policies that are seen as legitimate or having moral authority. If a leader represents values that others want to follow, it will cost less to lead.
Soft power is not merely the same as influence but is more than just persuasion or the ability to move people by argument. It is also the ability to attract, and attraction often leads to acquiescence. sSft power is attractive power. Soft power resources are the assets that produce such attraction. It uses different types of currencies; an attraction to shared values, the justness and duty of contributing to the achievement of those values, religious connotations, the use of archetypes and so on.
The basic concept of power is the ability to affect others to get the outcomes you want.
There are three major ways to do that:
- to threaten coercion (sticks);
to pay (carrots)
to attract or co-opt (using attraction costs less in carrots and sticks).
- First Estate (the Clergy)
Second Estate (the Nobility)
Third Estate (in theory commoners but in practice the bourgeoisie)
Fourth Estate (bowing to Thomas Carlyle) refers to the press and media.
The NGO sector is said to be emerging as the Fifth Estate.
The idea is not new and can be dated back to philosophers as Lao Tsu in the 7th century BC, however the concept was described in the context of international relations theory by Harvard University professor Joseph Nye, in a 1990 book, 'Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power' and 'Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics'. The term is now widely used.
Soft power rests primarily on three resources:
- culture
political values
foreign policies