Abstract
Power is a well-established concept in the social sciences especially in the political sciences. Although it is widely used in scientific discourse, different definitions and perspectives prevail with regard to it. This article aims to explore the possibilities of taking the debate further towards a third generation definition of social power. Although first generation definitions (associated with Weber and Dahl) and second generation definitions (associated with inter alia Giddens and Morriss) are still widely used in the academic field, they do not reflect the depth of the continuous debate on the concept of power. Viewpoints, especially with regard to agency and freedom, are not reflected in current definitions. To this can also be added the important dynamic relationship between power and change. This article summarises the important aspects of power debates relevant for defining power and discusses possible ways in which this can be accommodated in a definition of power. The current debate on the relationship between power and change is also reinterpreted with regard to defining social power. The article concludes by proposing necessary aspects of a third generation definition of power and suggests such a definition.
Highlights
The debates with regard to power in the social sciences are intensive and widespread
In this article it is proposed that we are moving towards a third generation definition of power
The nature of the power is important with regard to third generation definitions: the development of a third generation definition is not the same as the major conceptual progress from “power over” to “power to”, as we found in the first to the second generation definitions
Summary
The debates with regard to power in the social sciences are intensive and widespread. Writers on power differ in their approach to this concept. Some writers contribute to our understanding of power without embedding themselves in the conceptual debates. They use existing or other useful definitions or no definition at all. A problem in these debates is that many of the contributions are individualistic and do not necessarily contribute to integrate the different views of power. This article does not overcome this problem. It is a very specific view on power referring to various contributions to the debate, but proposing a very specific definition
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