Power, Authority and Dominion

Abstract

Faced with the reality of power, we become involved with a central aspect of the human condition, of the will of the self and of the us. Reflecting on power, on its relational and material character, we find that it is ungraspable, insofar as it escapes simplistic classifications. Power is studied in relation to its problematic itself, as the will of the I and the we over others and others, in the relationship of command and obedience. It is a political reality that goes beyond the national State and its institutions and is also exercised in interpersonal relations, moving in macro and micro politics. We approach it in the link with authority and legality. It is questioned as an exercise of force and coercion, in the search for legitimacy and appears in consensus and communication in complex and plural societies.