Power vacuum

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A power vacuum exists when the expected and / or agreed leadership is not exercised in a state , social group , institution or organization (e.g. state, family, business enterprise) for a longer period of time.

In this context, the word power can mean aspects such as rule, violence, strong influence, strong group or government, while vacuum stands for empty space, but also aspects such as time and possibilities.

causes

There are numerous possible factors that can create, strengthen or lengthen a power vacuum. Most often there are reasons that lie in the person who has been in the lead, such as weakness (s) of character, illness, absence or death, especially if the successor has not been arranged. As long as the balance of power is unclear, the state or the social association lacks a governing structure. There may be inefficient and disoriented action and / or power struggles for the purpose of redistributing power.

Another cause of unclear power relations are sudden change of power as a coup , a difficult change of government or by war or civil war caused government incompetence . The voluntary relinquishment of a powerful position without clear succession planning in good time can also create a temporary power vacuum.

Examples

  • A well-known example from German history is the so-called interregnum after the deposition of Emperor Frederick II in 1245 until Rudolf I was elected in 1273.
  • on May 14, 1948, British troops left Jerusalem, the seat of the previous mandate administration . Officially, power was not handed over to Jewish or Arab representatives - a power vacuum developed. (see also Palestine War )
  • A state's tendency to disintegrate , for example in Iraq in 2014 : threatened disintegration due to disputed government, ISIS rebels, a possible Kurdish state in the north and civil war in Syria .

Avoidance

Ways to reduce the risk of a power vacuum are:

  • in the case of temporary absence: clear substitute regulations
  • In the case of illness and / or weakness of character: Legitimate procedures for reassigning management responsibility (re-election procedure) or auxiliary measures to support leadership skills (example: socio-educational family support, parenting advice)
  • in the event of death: clear succession or re-election regulations

See also

Web links

Wiktionary: power vacuum  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.mydict.com/Wort/Machtvakuum/Page/2/
  2. ↑ Albert Meyer: There is talk of power: a philosophical essay . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2005, ISBN 3-8260-2871-6 , p. 59 ff . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  3. ^ The Arab-Israeli Wars since 1948, MDR ( Memento from September 6, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ http://www.onpulson.de/themen/134/akzeptanz-als-chef-sich-bei-mitarbeitern-etablieren/