Information

The amount of information (or 'intelligence' in diplomatic terms) one has about a situation is clearly a power factor. Rational decision-making depends on complete information, a rare position. Without knowing the 'background' of an issue or piece of policy-making one is at a disadvantage. One's opponents are likely to withhold as much information as possible. They may bluff and pretend they have information they do not possess: in fact, information about the amount of information opponents have will be an asset. Those in power, in particular, will have a tendency to keep information secret: hence campaigns for open government by opposition groups. It is not easy to make governments accountable if one does not know what they are doing or proposing to do.

Skills

The capacity to attain desired ends will also depend on the skills of those leading enterprises with policy goals. Various types of skills may be important. Personal attributes of democratic politicians tend to shade into political skills because they depend on public support: an attractive personality wins votes. An important political skill is the ability to persuade. This may involve not just oratory, a gift for stating an argument, but also an ability to explain and a willingness to listen. Less public political skills are those concerned with negotiation, mastering details and striking a compromise. Some of these skills are learnt; others are inherited.

Reputation

A reputation for good judgement and success in making decisions gives a political leader power. Sometimes reputations are unjustified. In some circumstances, especially where people are gullible or unused to assessing their political leaders, reputations may be artificially created by the image-makers. Sometimes the reputation of one's family will confer poweras with the Kennedys or Gandhis. Conversely a reputation for failure will deny one power.

Hence the resources of power are many and heterogeneous. Their scope and range vary greatly as do the contexts in which they are likely to be deployed. The ways in which power is deployed are also varied.

2.1.3 Styles of exercising power

The style varies between crude and brutal oppression and sophisticated persuasion. Very much depends on the regime (see Chapter 4). Absolutist rulers act in an arbitrary and suppressive manner: democratic leaders rely on the force of law.

Coercion

All states whether democratic or authoritarian in the last resort have to rely on coercion. This may not be physical compulsion. Power is exerted through sanctions of all kinds. Death is the most extreme sanction and quite popular as a way of silencing opponents in some regimes. Almost as effective is imprisonment. But in many political contexts the desired outcome of controlling people may result from threat of a fine, loss of promotion or even public ridicule.

Manipulation

This can include manipulation of the masses or of individuals and is a form of control without sanctions or the threat of sanctions. Clever politicians can outwit and use other politicians in negotiating processes what one might call the committee level of politics. Manipulation of the masses can depend on the ability to control information and that involves controlling the media in order to influence people's beliefs and values. If one accepts Lukes's view of power, a belief in a process of this kind is inevitable.