Differences between Power and Related Themes like Control, Influence, Authority are as follows:
The precise connotation of power became difficult, when the term became interchangeable with several related themes like control, influence, authority, force, domination, coercion and the like. Keeping this in mind, that it might create confusion for students of Political Science, it is necessary to highlight the important points of distinction between power and related themes.
Power as discussed earlier is the capacity to conquer, or one’s ability to control others. In doing so, power could be based on elements like fraud, tactics, ‘ manipulation, or even be derived from legal and constitutional procedures. International politics is nothing but a manifestation of power struggle. Force, on the other hand, is different from power. It is the most brutal manifestation of power.
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The techniques involved in physical force are restraint, coercion, threat, intimidation, blackmail, terrorism and military domination. So power can be called latent force, while force is manifest power. If force stands on one extreme, influence stands on the other. It represents the sublimation of power. It may be due to social prestige, intellectual and spiritual eminence, high morality and the like. So, while influence is persuasive, power is coercive.
Coming to the notion of authority, it implies moralization and legitimization of power through legal or traditional sanctions. It is essentially the institutional code within which the use of power as a medium is organized and is made legal. An elaborate analysis of the concept of authority will be done later in this unit.
Finally, speaking of control as a theme related to power also has its own distinct feature, different from power. It is more comprehensive and less concentrated than power. Control could be of a different nature like legislative, executive, judicial, financial and the like. Power is more intense, when compared to control.
Thus, we see that because of this diversity in the meaning of the term ‘power’, its comprehensive study becomes necessary.