User:TimRJordan/sandbox/Approaches to Knowledge/2020-21/Seminar group 4/Power

Power

Power is a multifaceted concept which is hard to define. Simply put, in terms of social science, power is the ability to act, or influence others to act, in certain ways or to have the strength and jurisdiction to make changes. Power often comes in the form of authority or control. There are multiple frameworks of understanding power such as direct and indirect coercion. .

Power distortions in History Education

History is the study of the past through the collection and analysis of historical sources. In most countries, the teaching of the subject starts already as a part of primary and secondary education, with broad curriculums which typically claim an intention to give students a balanced and impartial view of the history of their countries and the world. However, history curriculums and history textbooks are vulnerable to power distortions. Being subject to biases of those who write them, they are regularly criticised for their failure to offer students truly balanced accounts of the past. Critics have argued that even if the information taught is factually correct, the process of choosing what to include or not requires judgement, which gives those in power an opportunity to deliberately manipulate history in favour of their interests.

Nationalistic bias

One of the most common forms of power distortion in history education is the use of the subject to foster nationalism and patriotism by manipulating the narrative to favour the national image, a regular tool of indoctrination in authoritarian regimes. In the Third Reich, the Nazis used history textbooks to instil their values in the population at a young age through narratives which reinforced anti-semitism, gender roles, and the idolization of Adolf Hitler.

In Japan, history textbooks are not written by the state but must undergo a screening process, which allows them to influence the content. Most recently, the New History Textbook, published in 2000, has caused a lot of controversy for downplaying the country’s aggressions in the Nanjing Massacre and World War II.

Nationalistic bias can also manifest itself in more subtle ways. A study surveying 36 of the most popular American and British public-school history texts categorised only nine to ten of them as “even relatively free from prejudice”, and all deemed to contain some bias towards the author’s country. Some examples include the British textbooks’ heroic portrayal of leaders, American writers’ tendency to selectively include and omit facts to exaggerate successes, and also more subtle national biases, for example, the use of patriotic language such as “our people” and “invaders”, which may be subconscious, but nevertheless contribute to a feeling of national superiority. A number of historians have suggested that, on an international level, the distorted understandings of other countries’ histories has been detrimental to international relations, and potentially even contributed to war.

Power in Athenian Democracy

The athenian democracy, from the Greek demos (the people) and kratos (the power) is defined as a regime in which political decisions are made by the Athenian citizens. This primary form of democracy emphasized the importance of equality between citizens in political institutions, where Athenian aristocracy is no longer monopolizing the political field. Main political decisions were made during meetings of the Ecclesia, where all Athenian citizens were gathering on the Pnyx and voting laws, making executive pronouncements. These decisions were mostly grounded on rhetoric, as speeches were held, judged by the audience and consequently those depended on the persuasive influence within rhetorical power. Aristotle characterized them as deliberative discourses, that attempts to convince the audience to make or not actions for the good of the polis.

Although ancient democrats preached the isonomia (equality) within decision-making, citizenship was not given to women, slaves and foreigners: intersectionality consequently played a fundamental role in attributing political power to the city’s inhabitants. Moreover, Athenian wealthy elite was still not challenged as democratic ideology was not used to equalize access to possessions, so the elite’s economic position implicitly gave them power over others.

Athenian democracy raised criticism as the equality between citizens in political authority was clearly questioned. Plato is one of the vigorous critics of democracy, notably in his piece Republic. According to him, only the wises and knowledge’s possessors should share governance and defined the freedom instituted in democracy regimes as ‘anarchy’. The lack of expertise in the Athenian democracy highlighted by Plato, where ignorance is ruling over the discipline of politics, marks the idea of human failure and is leading humanity to tyranny. He expresses an ideal governance of the city where only ‘philosopher-kings’ have authority, those who possess the qualities required to govern a people. Finally, Plato criticized sophists who played a fundamental role in Athenian democracy since they were masters of rhetoric and oratory: in his opinion their argument’s only aim was only to persuade not to reach the Truth.

Power in Cartography

Power within mapping

Maps can shape what is seen and what is not. By visualising and mapping the contours of capital and state power, they often serve the interests of the state and tend to present views of the world of a particular group of powerful people. As noted by David Harvey, this is not limited to the representative features of maps but could be extended to the discipline of Geography as a whole.

These views are represented through the decisions made regarding the design of a map and the data used to produce it. The biases of the author are inevitable when choosing what to include or exclude in a database. It is not only what the map shows, but mainly what it does not – the silences, blindspots, and moments of contradiction can often reveal the larger power structures. Therefore, being able to identify and critique maps seems to be a crucial process in their very development. Moreover, as argued by Thatcher: “the members of the communities in question must not only be subject, but also author, of the mapping projects.”

Example

Counter-mapping indigenous lands

Counter-Mapping is one of the examples that allows indigenous activists to secure tenure and other rights by making claims upon ancestral lands. It is a practice in which they attempt to re-claim access and use rights, previously not represented in official state maps.

The Mercator projection

The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map projection invented by Gerardus Mercator in the late 16th century and is the most widely used mapping in cartography. Despite being considered the standard World map, it has been widely criticised by scholars for its cultural and political biases. Amongst other inaccuracies, it positions Europe at the centre and distorts proportions to present it as larger than most of the colonised countries, which is seen as a symbolic representation of eurocentrism.

Power In Indigenous Studies

Indigenous studies is the research into the traditions, cultures and lifestyles of Indigenous peoples and their communities. As a discipline, Indigenous studies is most prolific in Australia but there are centres, journals, researchers and education programmes globally as its’ prevalence rises. Originally, the topic was based in anthropology and history, but its’ application has now spread across politics, environmental science, education and even further. The general aim of Indigenous Studies is to progress the rights and champion the knowledge of Indigenous people and with this, inevitably, comes a power dynamic. Through the researchers ‘helping’ the Indigenous communities, they are giving themselves a position of power. This is perpetuated through the distinct lack of Indigenous people as educators on the discipline despite multiple initiatives and movements to embed them into the education systems . Similarly, it has been felt for many indigenous people that these studies are only used to appease “white guilt” about colonisation and not to make a positive change in any way. Others reported that they felt like entertainment to the non-indigenous researchers and students- as if they were 'animal research'.

Additionally, many methods of research into Indigenous practices have been criticised for their ethnocentrism. Often, in research, the practices of different communities are studied with an imposed etic which assumes that they can study these behaviours in the same way that they would study non-indigenous people. This serves to belittle the cultures and traditions that were meant to be the very focus of the studies in question.

The power that is played in Indigenous studies is not always used negatively and has been used for significant positive change for some Indigenous communities, with groups such as the Centre for World Indigenous Studies boasting impressive statistics on individuals helped and policies developed. This goes to show, however, that when the power exerted is adverse it is not as overt and direct as it has been through history but it often arises strategically through micro-aggressions, the nuanced use of language and the constant comparisons to non-indigenous communities with the aims of disparaging development and culture.

Hitler’s Indoctrinated Society: The Coercive Power of Linguistics

The ploys and characteristics of a successful orator, such as Churchill are based on eloquence, masterful references to literature, humorous quips and patrician. However, although Adolf Hitler’s speeches lacked an aesthetic quality, he is still noted as one of the most powerful and persuasive orators in German history. Once Hitler found his political arena as leader of the DAP German Workers' Party, he exercised his megalomania. Baynes believes that the power of his speeches is derived from forceful argument and cunning, the repetition of key ideas constantly to indoctrinate false beliefs into reality. Thus, Hitler utilised the building pessimism surrounding the economy and became the opportunistic ideology of the National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Hitler approached rule in a Machiavellian method by exploiting society’s “[simple minds… dominated by their immediate needs]” as a manipulator can always find those who are easily manipulated. Joseph Goebbels wrote that the significance of an idea is not whether it is correct but how it is conveyed to its audience effectively. For example, on the 6th of November 1939, Hitler addressed the issue of disarmament with the Weimar by personifying Germany as a hedgehog. He stated:

“	As a peace-loving man I have endeavoured to give the German people every means of defence... There are people who blame the hedgehog because he has prickles. All they need to do is not to go too near him and to leave him alone. The hedgehog has never attacked another animal. But if he is threatened...nobody must step on our toes.	”
—Adolf Hitler, unknown writer., “Herr Hitler's Speeches at Weimar and Munich.” Bulletin of International News, vol. 15, no. 23, 1938, pp. 21–24. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/25642373. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Thus, his careful linguistic craftsmanship is used to emotionally stimulate and rally German society into a violent and destructive form of national socialism. In his autobiography 'Mein Kampf', he reinforces the construction of power through lying. Hitler coined the propaganda technique "big lie" which is a lie so great and powerful no one would question the possibility it is false or in his words "the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily". Therefore, the linguistical importance is highlighted as the effect of the language is not within the words individually, but how one masterfully threads them through dogmatic thinking and emotional abuse.

Machiavellianism is the trait by which someone will manipulate, deceive and exploit people in order to achieve their goal, the ‘end justifies the means’. Hitler built up his power, by opposing the weakness of the nation with positive, optimistic language about patriotism and the country’s future.

Censorship, manipulation of ideas and strive to gain power over the people can be recognised in the linguistical study of Hitler’s speeches. They were described as “mesmeric” and galvanised “highly abstract concepts with political, physical violence” which conveys the boundaries of polarisation between moral good and evil were blurred through his intense persuasive language use. He crafted a rhetoric specifically constructed to generate the public’s pathos and consequently strengthen his authoritarian power and control. Thus, through the linguistical analysis of his verbalised power, society can use his skills in more nuanced, corporate systems such as business, advertisement, the media and celebrity brand endorsement.

Power in Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is the analysis of ‘opaque as well as transparent’ ways in which language and discourse constructs and reproduces power relations as natural and legitimate. Specifically, relations of power abuse, injustice and inequality.

In order to do this, CDA treats discourse as socially constitutive. Thus, social theory, namely of power and ideology, lays the foundations of the critical analysis, such as Foucault’s concepts of of ‘orders of discourse’ and ‘power knowledge’, and Gramsci’s notion of ‘hegemony.’ These theories are then interpreted in linguistic terms and applied to discourse objects and patterns. In disciplinary terms, CDA is therefore embedded within sociolinguistics, positioned between linguistics and sociology.

CDA is 'issue-oriented...rather than paradigm-oriented.' The issues chosen are analysed from the positions and perspectives of the dominated groups, with the target of critique being the ‘power elite’ - those who enact and justify abuse of power asymmetries through discursive access. CDA’s success is measured by its contribution to change – ‘empowering the powerless, giving voices to the voiceless, exposing power abuse, and mobilising people to remedy social wrongs. CDA advocates interventionism in the social practices it critically investigates.’

Therefore, the focus of study in CDA is driven by solidarity with the dominated and enacts an active disregard of the interests of those in power in its analysis.

The discourse of the power elite aims to justify or legitimate the stark imbalance of access to valuable social resources (such as wealth, education, group membership), as well as to deny that there exists a monopoly over access to social resources. In order for a hegemony to be constructed, public consent of these narratives of power asymmetry must be achieved. To do this, discursive narrative must be dispersed from power elites to the cognate of the general public, requiring discourse control. Forms of discourse control can be found at scales ranging from contextual and organisational control, to semantic and persuasive techniques.

Dominant speakers can, at the organisational level, limit the communicative rights of others, by restricting access to the communicative situation itself, as well as factors such as time and place - context control. Even when present, members of less powerful groups may be dominated in discourse. This form of exclusion may be legitimated by rule, such as regulation of turn-taking in trials, or can occur illegitimately by the breaching of normative discourse rules (such as politeness).

At the other end of the spectrum, micro-level socio-cognitive strategies of dominance reproduction involve deployment of discursive semantic and persuasive techniques. To achieve public consent of power elites’ narratives, they establish polarised models, in which positive self-representation is complemented by negative representation of the dominated group. This can be observed in, for example, discourses about refugees as an ‘invasion’, a threat, rather than a cultural and economic contribution, whilst the power elites are portrayed as ‘tolerant.’ Teun van Dijk describes some of the persuasive and discursive techniques deployed to manifest this polarised ‘us’ and ‘them’ model in terms of:

Rhetorical figures (such as metaphors) for hyperbolic enhancement, deployment of narrative to enhance credibility, using credible sources, particular lexical or syntactic style, genre choice keeping discourse within a framework, grammatical choice such as transitivity and passivisation, or text schemata for structural emphasis of ‘their’ negative actions.

In summary, Norman Fairclough, one of the founders of the field, provides a succinct, interlinked three-dimensional framework for social analysis of discourse:

1. Discourse as text – systematic analysis of the concrete textual and organisational features. This forms the descriptive stage of analysis.

2. Discourse as a discursive practice – linking the discourse to its context, as a process of production, distribution and consumption in society. This stage places strong emphasis on intertextuality, and acts as the interpretive stage of analysis.

3. Discourse as a social practice – This analyses the production and consumption of the text in its social context, forming the explanatory stage of analysis.

In conclusion, CDA is a field inherently directed by power relations, taking an active oppositional stance on power elites in analysis and enacting solidarity with dominated groups. It is successful against its own criteria only if it propagates viable strategies for counter-power and incites change in favour of less powerful groups. CDA treats discourse as a social practice (as identified in Fairclough’s third dimension of discourse), and, in this vein, attempts to expose how discourse is used as a tool for power and within it embodies unjust power dynamics.

Power Inequalities in Surveillance Capitalism

The rise of the digital era has shown how the development of new instruments of data analysis and technologies had contributed to the creation of extreme power inequalities. The emergence of large internet corporations in the late 1990s indicated a huge shift in the economic order of the industrial-oriented society. These changes have crystallised into the new frontier of power- surveillance capitalism, which is a novel market form based on the principles of capitalist accumulation that claims human experience as a new free raw material. It describes the processes of commodification of personal data which are used to extract behavioral information which gratifies commercial profit from improved consumer targeting.  In the book ‘The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power’ Shoshana Zuboff draws numerous similarities between the managerial capitalism invented by General Motors and the surveillance capitalism manufactured by Google in the early 2000s. She displays how the asymmetries in knowledge and power incorporated into this economic logic are creating an oppressive system, in which consumers are conditioned to not make rational choices and the balance of power is shifted towards large corporations. Behavioral targeting, fake news and ubiquitous tracking, and algorithmic governance are only a few of modern digital issues which Zuboff attributes to the domination of surveillance capitalism. She claims that understanding the new realities of our digital environment and its anti-democratic threats is essential for the future of humankind.

The fight for privacy rights and defence of freedom and democracy has emphasised the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in the Information Age, which requires an insight into the ethics of choices, economics, and computer-based systems.

The Power of Music - The case of National Anthems

The importance of Music

Music has been a central part of the human experience for thousands of years, before writing and possibly even language itself . The oldest instrument known to date is a 40’000-year-old bone flute found in Germany , and there is no reason to believe that simpler instruments like drums did not precede it. Music accomplishes “social functions, such as the channelling of aggression, the facilitation of courtship, and the establishment and maintenance of identity” according to Ulrik Volgsten ). This crucial social role is influenced by the biological and psychological effect that music has on humans.

Biological and Psychological effects of Music

Music plays an important part in the development of children: new-borns have been found to remember and like songs they heard in the womb, and children communicate with their parents through stimuli such as sound before language. Of course, music also has an effect on feelings, which actually replicates the effect of opioids on the brain, increasing pleasure and diminishing pain. Songs with loud singing reminiscent of screams and yells have a stronger impact on our feelings , while songs with simple melodies have a stronger impact on our memory. Music is even able to link different parts of the brain which wouldn’t normally be linked, enabling people who have lost the ability to speak due to brain damage to learn language again through song.

National Anthems: a Musical tool for coercion

Governments and political/ideological movements have been, purposefully or inadvertently, taking advantage of these characteristics of music through national anthems.

In France, for example, a 2005 law made learning the national anthem and its history compulsory in schools , and a 2019 law requires its lyrics to be displayed in every classroom, alongside the French and European Union flags. In New Zealand, children are often asked to sing the national anthem in school, and though an opt-out is allowed, few make that choice. In this way, governments play on the link between childhood experiences with music and identity, creating a feeling of patriotism which can follow students throughout adulthood.

Anthems are also composed with simple, repetitive melodies which are easy to remember and instantly recognizable, speaking to the memory-driven part of the brain. The lyrics are often also repetitive and bold, but they aren’t necessary, as is proven by the Spanish national anthem (which doesn’t have lyrics). The tempo is almost always slow, creating a sense of relaxation and making people feel present in the moment , while the singing is often loud and intense, triggering a strong emotional response and the release of “feel-good chemicals”. Thanks to these features, national anthems are even more ingrained in people’s minds and come to be associated with positive experiences. In the Philippines, the government goes as far as punishing those who do not sing the anthem “with fervor” in order to benefit from those characteristics.

Another form of coercion by music is underlined in the “White-Power music sandbox, which deals with music promoting white supremacy. However, official songs such as anthems or songs that openly adhere to a political or ideological movement are perhaps not the most effective of forms of coercion, because they are widely recognized as such and have been the targets of many controversies.

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The White-Power Music

Music has had multiple functions since its beginnings. If one purpose of the discipline is artistic and creative, music has also been used to convey messages. Musicians have written songs in order to disclose their true feelings when they couldn’t express themselves in more 'traditional' ways. However, the power of music to make people adhere to ideas is something that mustn’t be left out. Music’s effect on the brain is still under study but it is clear that it is a powerful tool . The fact that music can transcend borders nowadays allows many people to convey messages through songs. The example of White-Power Music illustrates this idea. Katherine Dyck defines this notion as the music produced by people who promote their definition of white-power or pro-white racist agenda. These individuals are often hostile towards minorities, against international power structures and believe in Jewish world conspiracy theories.

White-Power Music can even be considered as illegal in some countries (with the offence of ‘incitement of the masses’), depending on the messages conveyed. However, this type of music, born in Germany mainly due to the work of IS. Donaldson, is listened to in many continents. In addition to broadcasting racist ideas, White-Power Music has had physical impacts. The example of the 'Rock gegen Überfremdung' (Rock against Foreign Domination) festival in 2017 where 46 crimes were recorded shows that this music is a powerful tool. The issue of freedom of expression comes into play. Whether one decides to let people express themselves in music by considering that it remains words or states it is incitement to hatred with too direct consequences, the power of music cannot be ignored.

Power in Contemporary International Relations

In international relations, power refers to the capacity to convince another entity to behave in a way they would not have otherwise behaved. Hard power is defined as the ability to influence states via coercion, through military status and economic sanctions. The term 'soft power', first introduced by American political scientist Joseph Nye, describes a state's ability to influence others through persuasion, not coercion. This is possible through the attractiveness of a nation's culture and foreign policy, rather than their economic and military power.

Hard and Soft Power

Hard power is embodied by realism; states can achieve sovereignty through military power within our anarchic international system. It takes a shorter amount of time to acquire hard power, rather than soft power, as its resources are tangible e.g. trade embargos. Its effect, however, is only short-lived as it relies on the pressure states feel to act in a certain way, different from its regular practices. Historically, world powers have been the product of hard power. The US, for example, has acquired much of its status through military action. In 1898, when the Spanish-American War took place, the US acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines through military means. Since then, the US has continued to expand, with heavy involvement in global affairs. Currently, they have around 800 military bases across the world, a threat many countries cannot ignore.

Contrastingly, soft power relies on culture, political values, institutions, and legitimate practices. Legitimacy is central to soft power - to exercise soft power, a state's activities need to be recognised as legitimate. Time is also integral to soft power. As its resources are intangible, it takes a longer amount of time to build soft power, rather than hard power, but its effect is longer-lasting. Now the spotlight is on soft power. Firstly, hard power can be ineffective - when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, they ignored how their actions would be perceived by their allies and the illegitimacy of the attack, which jeopardised global confidence in US leadership. Secondly, in our increasingly digitalized world where the public plays a more active role in international politics, soft power practices are essential.

Looking to the Future: Smart Power

With the ineffectiveness of hard power and the limitations of soft power now recognised, world leaders look to smart power. Smart power is the capacity of a state to integrate aspects of hard power and soft power to advance a state’s goals effectively and efficiently. It involves a balance between strong military and economic tools and secure alliances and institutions. The EU is perhaps one of the best examples of this. The EU possesses military and economic power but ultimately, decide the norms for international relations. Actors are encouraged to comply with these norms to receive its benefits i.e. decades of peace between 27 nations.

Smart power requires smart strategies; those which respond promptly to our ever-changing world. Currently, these strategies should look to address our increased global interconnectedness and the increased development of target populations. With more access to formal education and the availability of social media, countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have grown more sophisticated and aware of their own society and less susceptible to the influence of others. These newly educated populations, therefore, require a different approach, smart power.

The Fluctuating Power of Theories

We live in a world which is constantly changing - the explanatory power of a theory in IR will fluctuate according to context. Before the world wars, for example, liberalism had strong explanatory power, namely for its democratic peace theory. The theory states that liberal democracies are less likely to go to war with each other than non-democratic states. Bremer's statistical analysis provides compelling evidence, ‘even after controlling for a large number of factors...democracy’s conflict-reducing effect remains strong’. The commencing of the Cold War, however, triggered disillusionment with this previously dominant theory. The state-centric nature of realism was able to more accurately interpret the actions led by the US and the Soviet Union e.g. the constant replacement of communist-led governments for capitalistic authority. More recently, we have witnessed a rise in power for constructivism, a theory able to explain change in the international system through norms, diffusion, and socialisation. In contrast to realism, leading constructivist Wendt believes, 'Anarchy is what states make of it'. It follows that self-help and sovereignty are norms which have changed our interests and led us to believe we need to defend territorial boundaries.

Power when telling a story: The power of storytelling

What is storytelling?

Storytelling is the action of reporting anecdotes, relating stories, and telling tales. Whether true, exaggerated or simply made up, these stories have an impact on people and from this impact may sparked power. Moreover, stories can create inspiration, unity, and open mindedness.

The impact of storytelling

In storytelling, there are myths that inspire. This is particularly evident when one is young when numerous myths may be told such as Santa Claus or the tooth fairy. These forms of myths fuel dreams and may potentially expand a person’s imagination. The question lies as to whether it is wise to stop spreading such myths and stories because they can influence many outcomes and may have an impact on a person’s development.

The marketing power of storytelling

In the field of advertising, experts have understood the fact that people live by stories. This is particularly evident in advertisements in the perfume industry, where advertisers neither sell the content of the product nor the product itself, but rather what a fragrance symbolizes in terms of love, beauty, self-confidence, fashion and stepping into the unknown.

The uniting power of storytelling

As the author and professor of history, Yuval Noah Harari, states it “Truth and power can travel together only so far. Sooner or later they go their separate ways. If you want power, at some point you will have to spread fiction. If you want to know the truth about the world, at some point you will have to renounce power. You will have to admit things – for example about the sources of your own power – that will anger allies, dishearten followers or undermine social harmony. Scholars throughout history faced this dilemma: do they serve power or truth? Should they aim to unite people by making sure everyone believes in the same story, or should they let people know the truth even at the price of disunity? The most powerful scholarly establishments – whether of Christian priests, Confucian Mandarins, or communist ideologues – placed unity above truth. Thats why they were so powerful.”. With such a statement made, it may therefore be said that humans generally enjoy power more than truth, and storytelling is intimately linked to the former.