Paradox of Power / Brokerage Makes Power Visible Flashcards
(12 cards)
Paradox of Power / What is a Broker?
FG AB WSF
Foucault
Graeber
Arendt
Brokerage
Weber
Sahlins
Freeman
Foucault - MDIBK
MASKING - U.S. War on Drugs = form of social control by disproportionately affecting marginalised communities - especially Black and Latino populations - making it seem like a public service, when in fact it creates a prison-industrial complex and polices bodies within disenfranchised groups; reinforcing existing racial and class inequalities;
DISCIPLINE : Panopticon => students internalise disciplinary power through grades, standardised tests, and social expectations; employees often monitored through performance metrics, email surveillance, and even self-reporting tools
INSTITUTIONS : institutionalisation of criminal identity perpetuates cycles of discrimination and marginalisation.
BIOPOWER : COVID - mandating vaccines, the state manages the health of the population as a whole, optimising collective well-being and reducing the spread of disease, relies on social norms around public health and individual responsibility to ensure compliance ;
China’s one-child policy controlled reproductive behaviours to manage national resources by tightly regulating births through mandatory permits, fines, and in some cases, forced abortions or sterilisations. This policy was justified as a way to prevent resource scarcity and ensure economic stability, but it also disproportionately targeted rural and ethnic minority communities, who were often more heavily surveilled, faced harsher enforcement, and had less access to exemptions or legal recourse, deepening existing social inequalities.
KNOWLEDGE - deviant behaviour, mental illness, began to be seen as a disease or abnormality that needed treatment, diagnosing rather than punishing it = mental asylums and prisons became institutions of care or correction, though often oppressive; medicalisation = medication or therapy
Graeber - V
Bureaucracy is a form of ‘VIOLENCE by paperwork’, disguised in the form of neutrality; imperceptible, invisible, and inherently rational, making it difficult to resist = so accustomed to living in a world of rules and procedures that they don’t question them
Graeber - DCRHM
DEBT - bureaucratic process regulated by paperwork e.g. CREDIT scores, loan ap; REGULATES personal behaviour - spending, borrowing habits, and even social behaviour - through indirect control not paying debt can affect credit scores, making it difficult to access HOUSING, education, or even employment ; becomes a MARKER of social identity
Arendt - C
Power is not something that is held, but something that arises through COLLECTIVE action= public, shared action in the political sphere, sustained by active participation in the political process
Arendt - NR
NAZI Germany - manipulated the power of the masses through propaganda, state control, and institutionalised violence, Third Reich demonstrated the consolidation of power not through public decision-making or collective action, but through the destruction of political plurality and the creation of an all-encompassing state e.g. Reichstag Fire of 1933 leading to the suspension of civil liberties and the passage of the Enabling Act, totalitarian states use emergency measures to eliminate political freedom
RUSSIAN Revolution - workers, soldiers, and peasants in Petrograd (St. Petersburg) formed councils (Soviets) that acted as decision-making bodies, taking control of land distribution and labour policies, Bolsheviks led by Lenin later consolidated power, and state terror (Cheka and later Stalinist purges) led to a totalitarian state
=> Arendt critique : initially collective action gave rise to new forms of power, but later replaced by a monolithic totalitarian control, marking the difference between genuine political freedom and dictatorial rule.
Brokerage - MICCLS
Mediator
Informal
Conflict-Navigator
Political Change
Legitimise
Stabilise
Brokerage - BL
Deborah James : South Africa - BUSINESS owner who wanted to expand their business might need access to government contracts, broker navigates government regulations and corporate alliances ; rural LANDLESS worker unable to directly approach the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to claim land = local broker ensures that the worker receives a plot of land
Brokerage - CE
Jeremy Boissevain - Sicily Patronage - a CONSTRUCTION contractor in Sicily might pay a local patron for access to a state-funded infrastructure project, patron uses their connections with politicians or local officials to make sure the business owner wins the bid for the project; brokers appear to offer help, but they EMBED individuals deeper into systems of surveillance and conditionality, such as welfare rules or land documentation. The state appears distant, but its disciplinary reach is extended through these visible intermediaries.
Weber - L
Power as the ability to LEAD : command resources, make decisions, and influence behaviour; three main forms of authority: Traditional, Legal-Rational, and Charismatic. Charismatic leaders draw power from their personal qualities, inspiring loyalty and action based on their vision and charisma.
Weber - TB
Sahlins
TRUMP (Melanesian Big-Man):
Charisma, personal influence, and the ability to mobilise people around his ideas; challenges the traditional political order; mobilises followers through populist rhetoric.
=> shifting to legal-rational
BIDEN (Polynesian Big-Chief):
Institutionalised system with formal authority, experience, ability to negotiate within the political system, and his representation of stability, emphasises order, tradition, and the management of state resources
Freeman - DEORSF
Freeman argues that Foucault’s concept of DISCIPLINARY power explains how institutions shape behavior and produce compliant subjects, but it underemphasises charisma, symbolic action, affect, legitimacy, loyalty, or public emotional investment - factors crucial to understanding how Ravalomanana became powerful.
ECONOMIC base: He built wealth and influence through his business empire, particularly his dairy company Tiko, which symbolised local entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
He gained popularity by framing himself as a political OUTSIDER to the corrupt elite, presenting himself as a modern, clean, and Christian leader.
He mobilised support from the urban middle class and aligned himself with RELIGIOUS institutions, like the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), to boost moral legitimacy.
SPECTACLE
Televised appearances portraying him as a devout, humble businessman-politician who prayed and worked hard.
Mass rallies and public events where he appeared as a saviour figure
Distribution of Tiko-branded goods (like milk or oil) during campaigns, merging his business success with his political identity.
These spectacles produced emotional attachment, a sense of intimacy, and the illusion of direct connection between him and the people.
FLUID
Traditional: He appealed to Malagasy cultural values and Christian morality, positioning himself as a responsible patriarch figure.
Charismatic: He was seen as a self-made businessman and moral leader who could rescue the nation - a “man of the people.”
Legal-rational: He took office through formal elections and emphasised modernisation and anti-corruption policies, drawing legitimacy from governance reform.
