The Nature of Power
In 1948, the OECD was formed by several European nations in what would become the first step toward the formation of the European Union. The creation of the EU was revolutionary in that nations gave up unprecedented amounts of their sovereignty, resulting in such acts as voluntarily subjecting themselves to monitoring of war materials (coal and steel) and culminating in the institution of the Euro and integration of European economies and societies, and politics. The success of the EU in the last few years is amazing not just because of its economic achievements, but because it signifies the first successful surrender of nationalism and the transfer of loyalty to a regional level, notions which would have been considered impossible at the beginning of the 20th century.
Taking into account the strength of nationalism in the 20th century, the phenomena surrounding the formation of the EU are hard to comprehend until the nature of power and its attraction to people is considered. Power plays a large part in human psychology, beginning when the infant cries in order to draw attention to itself and continuing as kids learn exclusion, join cliques, and as adults compete for respect and influence. Power is exercised from the most basic everyday relationships to the international stage. It is the ultimate motivator in society. Accepting this, it is easy to understand that the sacrifices made by the EU were made in the pursuit of greater power through collective unity, which overruled human affiliations with nationalism and the idea of sovereignty. The question we must ask is why power is so powerful a force. Power forms the basis of society because people want to live secure, respected lives. Simmel ...
... middle of paper ...
...rol of an otherwise chaotic existence. Power is the tool for maintaining a stable, and as such a secure life. Once stripped of all excesses and perversions, power comes down to avoiding the unknown and unsafe. It’s all about security. If we can accept that people are naturally predisposed to living secure lives devoid of real danger and instability, it is obvious, especially in these timers, that power is not only the basis of society, but is the one thing constant in life.
Sources Cited:
Bataille, Georges. Blue of Noon London: Marion Boyars Publishers LTD, 1957
Camus, Albert. The Fall New York: Vintage Books, 1956
Highmore, Ben. Everyday Life and Culture Theory. New York: Routledge, 2002
Kafka, Franz. The Trial New York: Shockden Books, 1998
Quotes Used:
Card, Orson Scott. The Crystal City. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2003.
Power. It is defined as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Throughout time, certain individuals have acquired power in their society as a way to govern and keep order among their community. Power is not a new concept; it was used in the past by many emperors, kings, and queens, and is still being used by presidents, prime ministers, and dictators. Although, it has been used to further progress societies into what the world is like today, not all power has been used for the best of mankind. But what goes awry to make power turn corrupt? In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, it is illustrated how power can turn corrupt, when authoritative figures, who possess power, abuse it for their personal gain, rather than for the common good of the society.
The classic definition of power is the sum total of one capabilities (Pevehouse and Goldstein, 2016, 2.2), but what influence does that “one” legitimately hold over any other “one” and/or groups of other “ones”.
their power to reinforce their dominant position and impede the ability of powerless groups to
a member of the judiciary such as a judge, the authority is not in the
At this point, with an understanding of what power is, what it means, how it is created and the various means through which it is expressed, one can begin to conceptualise how it is that power functions within a given society. Symbolic, cultural, social and economic capital distribute and perpetuate power within a society, through a cycle of transformation whereby these capital resources can be interchanged and manipulated to the advantage of individuals who have
...: Reassessing Legitimacy in the European Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 40 (4), pp. 603-24.
Nationalism is the idea that a people who have much in common, such as language, culture and geographic proximity ought to organize in such a way that it creates a stable and enduring state. Nationalism is tied to patriotism, and it is the driving force behind the identity of a culture. Nationalism had many effects in Europe from 1815, The Congress of Vienna and beyond. In the following essay I will describe many of the consequences of nationalism on European identity, as well as some of the conflicts that it created.
From the displays of power that have been shown through out this essay, we see that this story is a story about power. Power is the story is primarily about peoples need for some small amount of power to survive in life and to feel that hey have a purpose within their society which every society it may be whether its is Gilead or Nazi Germany or modern day Britain.
Some theorists believe that ‘power is everywhere: not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere… power is not an institution, nor a structure, nor possession. It is the name we give to a complex strategic situation in a particular society. (Foucault, 1990: 93) This is because power is present in each individual and in every relationship. It is defined as the ability of a group to get another group to take some form of desired action, usually by consensual power and sometimes by force. (Holmes, Hughes &Julian, 2007) There have been a number of differing views on ‘power over’ the many years in which it has been studied. Theorist such as Anthony Gidden in his works on structuration theory attempts to integrate basic structural analyses and agency-centred traditions. According to this, people are free to act, but they must also use and replicate fundamental structures of power by and through their own actions. Power is wielded and maintained by how one ‘makes a difference’ and based on their decisions and actions, if one fails to exercise power, that is to ‘make a difference’ then power is lost. (Giddens: 1984: 14) However, more recent theorists have revisited older conceptions including the power one has over another and within the decision-making processes, and power, as the ability to set specific, wanted agendas. To put it simply, power is the ability to get others to do something they wouldn’t otherwise do. In the political arena, therefore, power is the ability to make or influence decisions that other people are bound by.
Robert Kagan, American neoconservative scholar and political commentator created an international sensation in 2002 with his essay "Power and Weakness," that he later expanded into a bestselling book entitled Of Paradise and Power. His essay announced that "Americans are from Mars and Europeans are from Venus."
in any group of people, and there will be struggle to achieve it--be it a
Senior, Nello Susan. "Chapters:4,15." The European Union: Economics, Policies and History. London: McGraw-Hill, 2009. Print.
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
In World War II, a lot of people are slaughtered by a man who has absolute power. This man was Adolf Hitler and he murdered 6 million Jewish. A lot of people see him as a powerful dictator, because of his mass murder. People often see often as the ability the to get what someone wants at first thought. However, it has wider concept, it has a more complex structure. It could be used for a lot of purposes and has a lot of type. If some leaders or some institutions have absolute power, ultimately the power they have will corrupt the order expects some kind of power such as knowledge, love, etc.
Power is one of the key concepts in the great Western tradition. It is at the same time, a concept on analytical levels, and a notable lack of agreement. It is the ability to influence or control the behavior of people. With a political power, you have the ability, an ability held by individuals and groups in a society that allows them to create policies. Political power controls political behavior of others, to lead and guide their behavior in the direction desired. But can power also mean having a sense of liberty? Liberty is the independence and freedom from physical restraint and force. It is also a concept that protects all individuals, frees man, and protects the state. These are significant topics, so what is the relationship between