21603 Chap.4 Dimensions of Power and Social Capital
Dimensions of Power and Social Capital
Power is more than giving orders
Week 2 asks two questions every advocate faces: who can give us what we want, and what kind of power can we build to make them act?
Lukes’ model answers the first by separating the power to decide, the power to control which issues get attention, and the power to shape beliefs about what is even possible.
Relationships as a resource
Social capital, drawn from Putnam and Bourdieu by way of Onyx, describes the trust and networks that let people act together.
Bonding ties strengthen a group from within; bridging ties connect it to allies outside. Neither can be measured as a score, though the relationships behind them can be counted.
Over versus with
Han and colleagues add a relational view: power over others usually rests on power built with a community. That idea underpins community organising and returns later in the subject.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Power as a resource
- 02
Lukes’ three faces of power
- 03
Agenda-setting and advocacy
- 04
Bonding social capital
- 05
Bridging social capital
- 06
Power over and power with
Worked example · free
Tell bonding ties from bridging ties in a curfew campaign network
- 1Bonding ties: the relationships among street group members, and among members of the parents’ associations (drawn as one cluster), which build cohesion and commitment within a group.
- 1Bridging ties: the new links between the street group, the parents’ associations and the sleep clinic, which reach beyond each group’s own circle.
- 1Reach: the bridging ties widen the campaign, bringing voices and evidence the minister is more likely to hear than a single street group.
Key terms
- Agenda-Setting Power
- The capacity to decide which issues a government or institution takes up and which it leaves aside.
- Ideological Power
- Influence over beliefs and mindsets that determines which options people treat as possible in the first place.
- Bridging Social Capital
- Ties that connect a group to people and organisations beyond its immediate circle, making alliances possible.
- Relational Power
- Power understood as arising from relationships with others, and so shifting with circumstances rather than being a fixed stock.
Dimensions of Power and Social Capital FAQ
What are Lukes’ three dimensions of power?
Steven Lukes distinguishes decision-making power, the ability to act or block action; agenda-setting power, control over which issues are taken up; and ideological power, influence over what people believe is possible. The subject focuses mostly on the second, since advocacy typically tries to move the agenda of those who decide.
What is the difference between bonding and bridging social capital?
Bonding social capital forms inside a community as people spend time together, building identity and cohesion. The bridging kind stretches beyond family and friends to link a group with other people and organisations. Campaigns rely on both: loyal members at the core and alliances that extend their influence.
Can social capital be measured?
Not directly. The lecture treats it as a concept, comparable to trust, so it has no numerical value. Advocates can count related activity, such as relationships formed, meetings held or volunteers recruited, but those counts are evidence that social capital may be growing rather than the thing itself.
What does power with mean compared with power over?
Power over is the ability to make decisions that affect other people, such as a government’s authority. Power with exists alongside others, built through relationships and shared commitment. Drawing on a quotation in Han and colleagues, the lecture suggests that power over can rest on a community standing behind the person who holds it, though it notes money and relationships complicate the picture.
How does ideology limit advocacy?
Ideological power shapes what decision-makers and the public regard as realistic. If a widely held belief rules a proposal out before it is debated, evidence alone may not move anyone. Advocates then need to reframe the issue so it fits values people already hold, a slower task than winning a single argument.
Assessment move
Take one advocacy issue you care about and write three sentences: who holds decision-making power, what keeps the issue off or on the agenda, and which belief limits the options people consider. Then sketch the network around a group working on it, marking bonding ties inside groups and bridging ties between them.
The Week 2 reflection asks you to notice power in family, friends, work and class; spend five minutes doing exactly that. Bring these notes to the contest report, where explaining why one side is heard more than another is part of analysing the contest. Ask Sia to challenge your diagnosis if every obstacle looks like the same face of power.
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