robert dahl structural functional theory

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In principle representative government is a check against one element of society ignoring the concerns of others. A capacity by one set of actors to shape a priority agenda potentially leaves others in a marginal position in the governance of the community. However, if others find themselves left out, then those left out may experience power as a form of being dominated. In this way they give strength to a capacity to act, that is, give shape to a form of power to.

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Under such a separation some elements may come together in support of their particular version of how to meet community needs. In complex societies the governing function takes a distinct form, seemingly differentiated from other functions, and thereby becomes somewhat separated from the people as a whole.

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To the extent that they have this capacity, they can be self-governing but that capacity does not come free of complications involving both forms of power. This form of bargaining can shade into instances of power to.Īs bodies of people with shared concerns, whether it be to maintain public safety or provide a medical facility, communities have a need to act collectively. Attempted domination may give way to tacit bargaining over the degree of control and can even evolve into a form of exchange in which each party decides to give up something to receive something. In conflict scenarios efforts to dominate often generate resistance, thus running up the cost of control. While the two forms of power may seem to have little to do with each other, in a community setting there are ample instances of both, and oftentimes they overlap.

The second refers to circumstances in which the capacity to act comes through a combined effort, preferences are not firmly fixed, and conflicts are largely indirect and inferred. The first refers to conflict where the preferences of one clash directly with the preferences of another. The two forms can be thought of as power over and power to. Contending sides consistently talked past one another, a pattern that has much to do with the nature of power and an initial focus on power as control.īesides power as the ability of one actor to dominate another, some scholars see power as a shared activity in which people come together to do something that individually they could not do. However, their critics could also show that less-privileged segments of the population are left out and have little voice in governance. With the research task framed narrowly, pluralists could demonstrate that, as in New Haven, a small elite is not in control. Each side elaborated a case for its argument and against the opposing argument, largely neglecting alternative possibilities. Hunter ’s Community Power Structure thus triggered a cross-disciplinary, ideologically infused controversy that lasted for a quarter of a century or longer. Lynd (1929, 1937), or are they governed by shifting coalitions, with public officials often in the key role, like Dahl ’s postwar New Haven, Connecticut? With different cities at different times yielding different findings, grounds for amicable coexistence among researchers proved hard to establish. Are local communities dominated by the local business class like the pre – World War II “Middletown ” studied by Robert S. In its formative stage the community power debate set forth sharp alternatives. Instead, this school argued that governing is autonomous and that popular elections are the guiding force that keeps policy choices in line with citizen sentiments. In response a pluralist school of thought headed by Robert Dahl (2005) challenged Hunter ’s finding that the business sector with its rich supply of economic and organizational resources could determine a locality ’s policy agenda. Coming from a background in sociology and social work, Hunter nonetheless focused on politics and on how the system of representative government worked in practice. Earlier community studies dealt with power only incidentally. The work that drew attention to power was Floyd Hunter ’s 1953 book on Atlanta, Community Power Structure: A Study of Decision Makers.

Although concerned most directly with local politics, community power is linked to issues about the basic nature of democracy in modern society.

One of the most intensely debated applications of power is in the study of local communities. Furthermore, disciplinary differences overlap ideological ones. It is also a concept that belongs to many disciplines - political science, sociology, and psychology all accord it special importance. Power is a contested concept, with little agreement about what exactly to study or how to go about it.