Power

• Authority - a form of power where people willingly obey commands because they believe that they are lawful
• Key study: Weber
• Three types of authority:

  1. Rational (legal) authority
  2. Traditional authority
  3. Charismatic authority
• Rational (legal) authority:

  • rule based and formal
  • has been compared to the military
  • military orders are issued and they have to be followed
  • failure to obey these orders can result in sanctions
• Traditional authority:

  • based on custom and tradition - monarchy and aristocracy in British society
  • it is a hereditary system (given through ascribed status), based on inheritance
  • even though the power of aristocracy in Britain is more limited than it was - it is still a feature of the political system
  • the Prime Minister has to brief the monarch
  • some of the Prime Minister's power to make certain decisions comes from the monarchs
• Charismatic authority:

  • the quality of an individual's personality e.g. Jesus, Hitler
  • leads people to having complete faith in them
  • often informal
  • the qualities may not be used with good intentions