...What is power? Abstract The aim of the assessment is to discover what power is. First part of the assessment is going to analyse three dimensions of power and different political theories: Pluralism, Elitism and Marxism. Later on the assessment is going to talk about different forms of state power which are: use of force, authoritative leadership, use of nudge and surveillance. The last part of the assessment is going to criticise the three dimensions of power by using market liberals’ opinion that the state in fact should hold less power and give more of the power to the individuals by privatising public sector. The conclusion states that there is no exact definition of power and that it can be defined in different ways according to pluralists, elitists or Marxists. Introduction The beginning of the assessment is going to explain three dimensions of power and different political theories that associate with these dimensions, these are: pluralism, elitism and Marxism. Later on it will talk about different forms of state power. Explanation The first dimension of power is behaviourism according to Robert Dahl’s famous definition of power is: ‘’A has power over B to the extent that he can get B to do something that B would not otherwise do’’ which means that according to behaviourist philosophes in order to find out where power is we need to study different individuals behaviour. First dimension of power is pluralism. One of the pluralist observes was Robert Dahl who...
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...In the United States of America, we, as citizens, give our government certain powers via the United States Constitution. We allow the government to have these powers, not so that they may control us and everything we do, but so that they may protect us and provide us with a form of civilization and order. We give certain powers to the national government, but we do not give them all of the power over our nation, as we do not want to end up living under an absolute government. Instead, we take some powers and give them to the states. This way, the national government controls some things, the state government controls some things, and some powers are shared between the national government and the state government. There are many powers designated specifically for the national government. These powers are known as expressed powers. One of the powers of the national government is to control the armed forces and their affairs as well as other dealings of foreign policy. The national government is also in charge of interstate commerce, or dealings between multiple states. The national government can coin, or print, money. It is important that this power belongs to the national government in order to maintain a consistent currency throughout the country....
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...Agrippina the Younger wielded significant power in during the later years of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, acquired through her lineage connecting her to Augustus in both Julian and Claudian families; and though her three marriages to significant political figures. Tacitus notes her unique position as the “sister, wife and mother of emperors”. Daughter of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder, Agrippina II was born into prominence. Her first marriage was to Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, to which she bore her only son to, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (Nero). Gnaeus, a Roman general and politician, was quite wealthy and held credible familial links to Octavia, Augustus’ sister. This would ensure Nero was a legitimate heir to the role of Princeps....
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...What are the sources and limits of MNC power? Multinational Corporations in a Global Economy IR 120 - 201136597 - Catharina Knobloch 1. Introduction As MNCs are getting increasingly important as actors in political bargaining, the purpose of this essay is to provide a (more or less) detailed overview over the sources and limits of the power of multinational corporations (MNCs). In the first section, I am going to lead into this topic by giving some definitions. In addition to that, I am also going to explain the role of MNCs in the international governance based on the typology of regime types. Then I am going to examine the most important sources and forms of business power, before taking into account the limits and the vulnerability of MNC power. 2. Definitions First, the term of the “multinational corporation” is difficult to be generalised due to extensive variations among the current examples (corporations are of different size, age, nationality industry, pursuing distinct decision-making processes and strategy-setting patterns, etc.) In order to define it more precisely, a multinational corporation is a firm, which owns assets and controls activities in different countries. As a consequence, the corporation needs at least one subsidiary in a non-domestic country to be classified as an MNC (just foreign trade is not sufficient). Some examples of these include Shell, General Motors, IBM or BP that operates in more than 100 countries. There are four categories...
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...Is the power of persuasion the only real power a President possesses? What are the powers available to the President? It can be argued that the power of persuasion is the only truly effective way of reaching decisions within Congress that favour the president, whilst avoiding the gridlock that the separation of powers can cause. Despite the president have a set of constitutional derived powers which he cause use to come to decisions, it can be said that this is no longer enough in the modern day and that the president’s ability to negotiate is now a indispensible skill. Along with the growth of the federal bureaucracy and the Executive Office of the President, the power of persuasion has come more into play. The president can now utilise his staff to negotiate and come to decisions which favour the president and his respective party without having to use any of his definite powers himself. The president now exploits his vice-president to a greater extent. After the passing of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and the Eisenhower presidency in 1953, when his vice-president Nixon was given more high profile tasks, the vice-president became a significant presidential adviser. Also, for example, President Bush’s vice president, Dick Cheney, with his experience brought connections with Congress which proved important in advancing the Bush legislative agenda. However, despite this bringing the ability to pass the presidents legislation more easily, it does not take...
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...Race, class, and gender have established power since the dawn of time. Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird, uses power to show the lack of respect and rights of black people. Mayella, a white and southern woman, claims that Tom Robinson, a black man, has raped her and gets him killed. Mayella uses her power through race and gender to overcome Tom’s power and ultimately wins her the case and Tom’s death. Overall, Mayella has so much power through race and gender that it makes her more powerful than Tom in spite of her lack of class power. Mayella is a white woman fighting against a black man which gives her racial power. Reverend Sykes says that “I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…” (Lee, D)....
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...gain knowledge and wrote books to show the empiricism in philosophy. John Locke wrote many books and essays to show his beliefs and views. John Locke’s A letter Concerning Toleration with the concerning the true extant and end of civil government was written in 1689 in Gouda, Holland. His beliefs and views shaped the world as it is today. John Locke start off his essay with writing about political power. He states, “Political power, then, I take to be a right of making laws, with penalties of death, and consequently all less penalties for the regulating and preserving of property,” John Locke defines political power as the right to make certain laws to protect and regulate property. These laws are put...
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...To what extent are the two chamber of congress equal in power? The two chambers do have some concurrent powers. Concurrent powers are those that are held by both chambers of congress. The two houses are equal in the passage of legislation. All bills must pass through all stages in both houses; neither house can override the wishes of the other. Both must agree the same version of the bill before that bill can be sent to the president for his signature. Both houses must vote by a two-thirds majority to override a president’s veto of a bill. In 2007, congress overrode president bush’s veto of the Water Resources Development Bill. The vote in the House was 381-40 and the vote in the senate was 81-12. The two houses are also equal in power when it comes to initiating constitutional amendments, an amendment must be approved by a two thirds majority in both houses before it can be sent to the states for their ratification. Both houses must concur in a declaration of war. This has occurred on only 5 occasions, the last one being in 1941, when America declared war on Japan in the Second World War. Lastly the 25th amendment gave to both houses the power to confirm a newly appointed vice president, this has occurred in 1973 and in 1974. Furthermore when the republicans take control of the senate in January 2015, both houses will be controlled by the republicans, meaning the differences in houses will be less relevant, as agreement between both houses will be much easier. It is also...
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...What are the main sources of Prime Ministerial power? The Prime Minister enjoys certain privileges and powers that the rest of the executive. The Prime Minister is the most important figure in the UK political system, there is debate to the extent of he or she’s power; the PM draws power from a number of sources. The extent to which these powers are harnessed and used is dependent upon a number of factor, but in reality the PM can gather an incredible amount of power from the traditions, conventions and laws which regulate the post of Prime Minister. The post is seen as providing “National Leadership” and is therefore the pre-eminent position in UK politics. The Prime Minister is first and foremost an MP. This affords them legitimate power to act as they see fit on behalf of the electorate. Moreover, they have also been democratically elected within their own party, therefore they have a mandate to rule. The principle job and source of power for the PM is to set up a government. Ratified by the Queen this gives the PM the power of patronage. They can hire and fire; this gives them control and power over the careers of party members and peers. As a result party member and ministers want to impress the PM and often agree with his or her policies. Much of the PM’s power comes from being able to “hire and fire”. Although this does come with constraints; firing members of the cabinet can cause tensions within the party. However, substantial reshuffles have secures a PM’s power...
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...George Orwell’s 1984 paints a world where the human spirit succumbs to tyranny, becoming victim to an abusive governmental regime interested only in pure power. With a shallow analysis, this dystopian universe appears foreign, but in actuality, the risk of corrupt government remains a constant threat. For example, in countries such as North Korea, such a government already thrives, even under the watchful eye of a global community dedicated to retaining democracy. Whenever a ruling body takes unto itself the power to alter public opinion through deception, this raises red flags because it manifests as classical emotional abuse on a national or even international scale. For this reason, it is especially important that high school students read...
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...Have you ever thought about how many times willpower has helped or played a part in our life.Many people say that willpower would help decide whether you’re more successful in the future.With this thought in mind many experimented with this theory by having children around the age of four test their willpower with marshmallows.This experiment starts with the kids being asked to sit in a room with one marshmallow in front of them.They are told that they can eat the marshmallow in front of them right now or they can wait for the person to come back and earn another marshmallow.This experiment was to test to see how many kids would eat the marshmallow and how many wouldn’t. The children who didn’t eat the marshmallow were said to have a more successful future than the ones who didn’t. While this experiment was attempted a few times there have been results that were similar and some different.I think that willpower plays a large role in success because it can help you focus,self-control,and also financially....
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...Government is, in theory, accountable to Parliament, however it is difficult for this to be the case when government makes up a large part of Parliament. So when examining how effective Parliament is at controlling the power of the executive, all of the below has to be considered. The role of select committees and departmental select committees are very important in the control of government’s power. These committees scrutinize government policy, as well as raising public awareness of it, in great detail. The line of questioning is very different, and considerably more in depth, than if the queries were raised in the House of Commons; this is because evidence is gathered in advance and the committees demand answers with substance, opposed to filibustering or rhetoric. Evidence has shown that 40% of committee recommendations to government has then been applied to policy. However, it is not so much that the recommendations are a control of the executive, but the fear the committees induce in the government; the government knows that, if they make a policy that is not in the public’s interest, they will be exposed. That being said, in a legal sense, select committees have no control or power over government, which could be argued makes them ‘watchdogs without teeth’. The committees are also, in part, made up of MPs belonging to the governing party and may not want to scrutinize their party as it may be damaging to their career prospects. The House of Lords cannot block government...
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...To what extent did the constitution ensure the Kaisers power was preserved? To a large extent the Kaiser had all power over Germany and with the desire for changes in the way Germany was run, it resulted in the improvements such as the creation of a constitution which was without a doubt crucial to the consolidation of the Kaisers position. The constitution consisted of 25 federal states, within this there were 4 kingdoms, 12 Duchies, 6 Grand Duchies and 3 free cities. At first the Kaiser had pretty much entire control over all of these states, however each one did have a government which could decide on a healthcare system, education and justice policies. The states were at this point happy with this situation, so on the whole they were content to remain part of Germany. The Kaiser had autocratic control over diplomatic policy and this meant he could even dismiss his own chancellor. He could control the entire political system of Germany as he could select people who agreed with his policies. He also made a rule that in order to rule the Kaiser must be a Prussian, ensuring his control over the German people. His rule also meant he could change the constitution so that these rules had to stay in place. The control of these factors played a big role in keeping his position a stable one. The chancellor was the chief minister of the Reich, the only person who controlled him was the Kaiser with his ability to dismiss state secretaries and anyone else who he didn’t like. He...
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...Generally the Senate is viewed as the more influential and prestigious body. A primary reason for this is its greater exclusive powers. In particular, the Senate has the sole power to ratify treaties, with a 2/3 majority required. For example this power was used in 2010 to ratify the New Start Treaty, passing in a 71-26 majority. In essence, the Senates role in foreign policy is far more extensive. Another of the Senate’s exclusive powers is to ratify the president’s nominations and this manifests perhaps most importantly regarding the Supeme Court. Not only can they vote against a nomination e.g when Robert Bork, the conservative justice nomination by Reagan in 1987 was voted against by 58-42 but also the mere threat of a veto severely affects who the president will even consider putting forward. For example Obama could now theoretically put forward a very liberal Supreme Court justice however he knows it would eb a wasten of time given the Republican majority in the Senate. However it should be remembered that the House too has its own exclusive powers such as in itiating money bills and the power of impeachement. Moreover, in terms of individual factors the Senate clearly appears more presitigous and influential. Firstly, there are just 100 senators compared to 435 members of the House which automatically gives indivisuals a greater infleucne. Equally, Senate terms are 6 years compared to 2 in the House, so Senators can focus on their actual job and getting things done rather...
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...To what extent is the USA's dominance being threatened by the emerging power of the BRICS? (15) The USA has a notable dominance over the rest of the world due to having strengths in four main areas: economic strength, military strength, cultural influence and political power. However, the emerging BRIC nations are threatening the USA’s dominance because their strength in these areas is also looking strong. In terms of its economy, the USA is strongly threatened by China. China has the second highest GDP in the world behind the USA (6,807.43 USD in 2013) and this figure is growing at a much faster rate than the USA’s. China’s manufacturing industry is huge and exports many products all over the world. Although the average quality of life in China isn’t as good as the USA’s, it improving due to China’s growing economy allowing more investment in services like healthcare and education. A wealthier population in China may also lead to future political change and even more economic growth. Also, India’s economy is powerful and growing, although not on the scale of China. Overall, I think China will soon become more of a dominant nation compared to the USA. However, China’s GDP and quality of life won’t match the USA for a long time. The military strength of countries is important in making them superpowers. Although the USA has the strongest military force in the world, China also has very strong military strength and is most likely here to threaten the USA for global dominance...
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