What does the concept of power 'do'?Stefano Guzzini provides core chapter in major study on power in International RelationsConcepts need to be analyzed for what they mean, such as to become the basis for making analysis, and making it more precise. Yet, another important component of conceptual analysis is the interaction of those concepts with the world they are categorizing. This book chapter shows how such a constructivist understanding of conceptual analysis can be applied to power. Attributing power to actors requires them to justify their acts: power is connected to responsibility. Attributing power to an event means politicizing it, i.e. getting it out of technocratic decision-making into public debate. Hence, definitions of power are no idle semantics, they are part of (power) politics. The chapter shows the three facets of such a constructivist power analysis: what does power mean? What does it ‘do’? How has it come to mean and do what it does? The entire book can be seen at Routledge’s webpage. |
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