On the source, site and modes of domination

Abstract

This article seeks to examine how domination manifests in social relationships and institutions. It does this by examining two debates in republican literature. The first of which is whether domination requires institutionalisation? This addresses the source of domination. The second debate is on the nature of arbitrary power. This raises questions about the site of domination. It will be argued that the source of domination can be personally or socially constituted and that the site can be interactional or systemic. This yields four modes of domination that can be used to examine social institutions and relationships.

Keywords:

• domination
• power
• Philip Pettit
• republicanism

Acknowledgements

My thanks go to Cecile Laborde, Robert Jubb, Laura Valentini and Iseult Honohan for their instructive criticism, as well as the attendees of the What is Domination? Workshop held by the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, under [grant number 752-2008-1660], and a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship supported by the Newton Trust [grant number ECF-2014-661].