Reflections on the sources of power

Abstract

An interview carried out at the Power and Knowledge Conference, Tampere, Finland, 8 September 2010

In this conversation Mann and Haugaard discuss Mann’s four sources of power: military, political, economic and ideological power. It is argued that military and political power can have different sources, whereby political power is not reducible to coercion. The significance of ideological power is explored in relation to nationalism, ‘false consciousness’, the enlightenment, and the rise of religion in the twenty-first century. The exchange concludes with reflections upon the relationship between these sources of power to globalization and current environmental challenges.

Keywords:

• Political power
• military power
• economic power
• ideological power
• globalization