Logics of Power: Politics and How to Rule Them

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Book cover "Logics of Power"

Logics of Power: Politics and How to Master it is the title of a handbook by Dominik Meier and Christian Blum that was published in 2018 by Tectum Wissenschaftsverlag (English translation 2019 under the title Power and its logic by Transcript in cooperation with Columbia University Press ) that deals with the topic of power based on three key questions: First: What is the nature of power? Second, what are their manifestations and fields? And third: How is power exercised and legitimized in political practice?

In their analysis, the authors combine practical knowledge from the field of public affairs with findings from political science, sociology, historiography and philosophy. The starting point of the study is a societal taboo of power diagnosed by the authors. Meier and Blum counter this with their own value-neutral access to topics. The declared aim of the manual is to promote the practical and theoretical understanding of power through a prejudice-free discourse between politics, business, science, civil society and religion and to enable decision-makers to use power effectively and responsibly.

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Chapter 1: The Nature of Power

In the first chapter, Meier and Blum focus on power as an object of knowledge . In confrontation with Western theorists such as Max Weber, Heinrich Popitz and Michel Foucault as well as the Far Eastern schools of thought of Daoism and Confucianism and the political doctrine of Islam, they develop a pragmatic definition of power as a double potential: power is accordingly the potential assets of people and organizations as one overcome potential resistance from other actors. On the basis of this definition, they examine whether the phenomenon of power follows regularities that apply to all epochs and cultures; these are the eponymous logics of power. The result is a catalog of universal principles. These include moral neutrality (power sui generis is neither good nor bad, but only maintains its moral valence contextually), omnipresence (power can emerge in every aspect of our existence, there are no domination-free spaces) and feasibility (power systems are not natural and are therefore under pressure to justify being made differently and better). The central conclusion of the first chapter is that power is an important and, above all, irreducible part of human existence. Therefore, according to Meier and Blum, the question arises of how people can legitimately and successfully use power in different areas of society.

Chapter 2: The Concretions of Power

The second chapter therefore analyzes the forms of manifestation, social fields and resources of power. Based on Popitz monograph Phenomena of Power (1986), Meier and Blum classify four basic forms: violence-based action power, instrumental power based on threats and promises, technological power and authoritative power based on personal reputation and exemplary character. These forms are concretized with regard to three central areas of society: religion, economy and politics. For Meier and Blum, these fields are on the one hand arenas of the internal power struggle and on the other hand competitors in the struggle for overall social influence. The political field has a special status insofar as its institutional structure and collectively binding norms influence all aspects of community life. Accordingly, the focus of the study is on the conditions of legitimation and resources or requirements of political power. The question of legitimacy is answered with recourse to the common good , which Meier and Blum define as an integral of democratically aggregated preferences and objective, ethical framework conditions. The resource question leads to a systematic key part of the monograph, the triad of authority competence, authority knowledge and instruments of authority. The power of rule is determined with reference to the Aristotelian concept of téchne as a practical and habitual mastery of the political craft. In contrast, knowledge of domination constitutes the component of epistémé , i.e. H. knowledge of strategy development, normative and narrative establishment of rule and administrative technology. The term instruments of domination finally includes the technological and social instruments of the political power struggle: weapons, surveillance and communication technology, police, secret services, parties, etc. The central conclusion of the second chapter is that mastering these three types of political power resources is so mentally and physically challenging that it cannot be tackled alone. From this problem, according to Meier and Blum, the figure of the political advisor, the homo consultans , arises with a need for the history of ideas , who supports the actors in the power struggle without striving for power himself.

Chapter 3: The Practice of Power

The third and last chapter, in the form of a practice-oriented curriculum, explains the basics and instruments of political power advice for the various actors in the political arena - representatives and parties, companies, civil society organizations, associations, etc. The focus is on the power leadership approach and its three components: enabling, condensing and shaping. These include the central instruments for imparting competencies through political coaching and training as well as the tools for digital information acquisition, systematisation and evaluation, and finally the concrete policy-making through communication with social interest groups and decision-makers. Based on newly introduced models such as the “power chess model” and the “four-phase model”, techniques such as network analysis, the SWOT matrix and stakeholder mapping are explained and relocated in the context of political and strategic power advice . In conclusion, Meier and Blum argue that the political power struggle in the 21st century must also reflect the phenomena of inter- and supranational networking. Therefore they opt for a discipline of Global Governmental Relations in order to address the challenges and opportunities of globalization with a culturally sensitive, centrally coordinated advisory approach based on the national division of labor.

Reviews

The logics of power received a predominantly very positive response in the national press as well as in scientific journals and specialist media. In the Handelsblatt, Thomas Siegmund classifies the book as a “new standard work in political advice ” and emphasizes the authors' wealth of experience, which is reflected in a clear understanding of the different power logics of politics and business. Numerous reviewers see the clarity of the book, its clear language and the development of concrete solutions to political challenges as the book's strengths. Isabell Trommer from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also admits to Meier and Blum that they presented a clear, structured and well-written text, but criticizes the systematic divergence between theory and practice. The political scientist Johannes Varwick , on the other hand, saw the book's strength in the “linking of conceptual considerations with concrete advice for everyone who wants to be involved in the political (advisory) business”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See also: Meier, Dominik & Blum, Christian: Macht und Gemeinwohl . In: Society • Economy • Politics (GWP) . 68th volume, issue 3/2019, p. 391-399 .
  2. ↑ Thomas Siegmund: Logics of Power - the new standard work of political advice (review). September 7, 2018, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Christoph Nuschko: Book review on the portal of Political Science. October 16, 2019, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Making politics - the logics of power. June 1, 2019, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Recommendations for your political reading. politik & kommunikation, 23 January 2019, accessed on 8 April 2020 .
  6. ↑ Isabell Trommer: Politics as Management (book review). February 18, 2019, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Prof. Dr. Johannes Varwick: Books on Politics and Civic Education (Review). POLITIKUM, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Michael Harbecke: Research field power. April 11, 2019, accessed April 8, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Jakob Lempp: Review in the journal "Neue Politische Literatur" Vol. 64 (2019). Retrieved April 8, 2020 .