Rising KashmirRising KashmirRising Kashmir
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022

Categories

  • Anchor
  • Breaking
  • Business
  • City
  • Developing Story
  • Editorial
  • Education
  • Features
  • Health
  • Interview
  • Jammu
  • Jammu and Kashmir News
  • Kashmir
  • Kashmir Tourism
  • Kath Bath
  • National
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top Stories
  • Trending
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
  • Viewpoint
  • World
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Decoding Political Power
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Search
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • News
    • Kashmir
    • City
    • Jammu
    • Politics
  • Health
  • Anchor
  • Features
  • Interview
  • Video
Follow US
© 2024. All Rights Reserved.
Rising Kashmir > Blog > Opinion > Decoding Political Power
Opinion

Decoding Political Power

RK News
Last updated: April 3, 2023 12:12 am
RK News
Published: April 3, 2023
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

Dr. IRFAN HAMEED

 

All forms of power involve the ability of powerholders to coerce others into giving up their property, their free choice of action, and even their lives. Political power, as opposed to economic power (based on money or other forms of wealth), religious power (based on relationships to transcendent forces), family power (based on sex, seniority, and kin relationships), and pure coercion (based on brute force), is rooted in the recognition of the rightful authority of the ruler. That authority stems from the demands within a society for specialists with the ability to mediate and coordinate.

 

Any group of human beings in regular interaction among themselves is prone to conflict over possessions, decisions regarding group actions (to hunt or not, to camp here or there, to fight or flee from a threat), and individual actions that give offense (insults, injury, infidelity). In small groups, such conflicts usually can be settled through the arbitration of respected family members or elders, but in larger groups or groups in which much interaction occurs among nonkin, those conflicts produce demands for justice that require a more broadly recognized form of mediation. Individuals who are particularly skilled at mediating such conflicts, who gain a reputation for wisdom and justice, can acquire the role of a specialist in settling conflicts. In addition, every group of human beings faces external threats from wild animals, the weather, and other human groups. Individuals who are particularly skilled at coordinating actions within a group for the purposes of attack, hunting, and defense can gain a reputation that translates into a calling as a specialist in coordinating group actions to meet threats.

 

The functions of mediation to produce internal justice and of coordination to deal with external threats are distinct. Modern societies have legal-judicial systems and executive- military systems that show a similar division of functions. However, these functions tended to merge because in both cases it was necessary to have mechanisms to compel compliance with the arbitration decisions of the mediator or the action directives of the coordinator. Once a society develops regular means to compel compliance with those decisions and directives (generally armed warriors closely attached to or under the direct supervision of the mediator or coordinator), that society is on its way to developing a state. Political power is thus the authority given to a recognized leader, whether judge or general, to compel compliance with his or her decisions.

 

 

 

Political power, however, is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, the power of the leader must be sufficient to ensure that arbitration is enforced and that the coordination of military, hunting, or building activities is effective. The larger a society is, the more complex its economy is, the stronger its enemies are, and the more threatening and varied its environment is, the greater are the tasks facing the state. Thus, for a society to avoid turmoil and defend itself, it must grow in organizational size, complexity, and power along with the society of which it is a part. On the other hand, as the leaders acquire control of larger and richer organizations and larger and more powerful coercive forces, there is a danger that that organizational and coercive force will be used to enrich and serve the desires of the ruler, not to meet the demands for justice and protection of the population.

 

The history of the state is thus a history of balancing acts and often of overreaching. State rulers frequently use their organization and authority to expand their power and wealth. Some rulers invest heavily in conquest, acquiring power over new regions and peoples by brute force and then setting up organizations and laws to acquire and enforce political authority. Other rulers have sought to distinguish themselves primarily as lawgivers orparagons of justice. Still others have simply taken their power as given and abused it. Sometimes they gain mightily from such abuse, but at other times, under very particular conditions they may become the object of elite revolts or popular revolutions.

 

The key to understanding the state is knowledge about the shifting relationships between state rulers, their organizations and resources, and their societies. Much of the history of the development of state forms comes from the competition between rulers seeking to extend their control of political organizations and coercive force and elite and popular groups seeking to limit or channel political authority into socially acceptable goals and actions.

 

(Author is a Senior Professor of Political Science working in Dubai. He writes for different national and international dailies)

 

 The Dark Side of Online Gambling: A Growing Menace in Kashmir
Raising Homing Pigeons: An exquisite art
The Tale of Hospitals: Some are bitter and some are sweet
Teenage Substance Abuse: Where are we heading!
Human-Centric Globalisation: Taking G20 to the Last Mile, Leaving None Behind

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp Copy Link Print
Previous Article War against drugs
Next Article Importance of Financial Literacy
Leave a Comment Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

1MFollowersLike
262kFollowersFollow
InstagramFollow
234kSubscribersSubscribe
Google NewsFollow

Latest News

Two drug peddler arrested in Budgam
Breaking
May 27, 2025
Air India extends suspension of Tel Aviv flights till June 19
Breaking National
May 27, 2025
“Terrorist activities are deliberate war strategy, if they are engaging in war, response will be appropriate”: PM Modi slams Pakistan
Breaking National
May 27, 2025
Heavy downpour brings relief from heatwave in Kashmir; hailstorms wreak havoc
Breaking
May 27, 2025

Recent Posts

  • Two drug peddler arrested in Budgam
  • Air India extends suspension of Tel Aviv flights till June 19
  • “Terrorist activities are deliberate war strategy, if they are engaging in war, response will be appropriate”: PM Modi slams Pakistan
  • Heavy downpour brings relief from heatwave in Kashmir; hailstorms wreak havoc
  • Yamaha’s “Total Warranty”: Is It Worth the Hype in India?

Recent Comments

  1. SavePlus on AI and Behavioural Analytics in Gaming: Making the World of Gaming Better
  2. Parul on Govt acknowledges faulty streetlights on Narbal-Tangmarg road
  3. dr gora on Women Veterinarians and the Goal of Viksit Bharat
  4. jalwa game login on National Education Policy 2020: Transforming India’s Educational System
  5. Virender Bhat on Pahalgam Attack: A War on Humanity, Peace, and Kashmiriyat

Contact Us

Flat No 7,Press Enclave, Srinagar, 190001
0194 2477887
9971795706
[email protected]
[email protected]

Quick Link

  • E-Paper
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Top Categories

Stay Connected

1.06MLike
262.5kFollow
InstagramFollow
234.3kSubscribe
WhatsAppFollow
Rising KashmirRising Kashmir
Follow US
© 2025. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?