Power (social and political)

Social and political power as a multifaceted concept. Top-left: The entrance of the Zhongnanhai, the compound that houses the top leadership of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Top-right: In the indexes of the Henley Passport Index, Singapore is often posited as the most visa-free access of any country through their passport agreements to 195 destinations; an example of soft power. Bottom-left: a chain gang of prisoners serving their sentences under the authority of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the United States. Bottom-right: statue of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama near Moneygall, Ireland; an example of cultural power.

In political science, power is the ability to influence or direct the actions, beliefs, or conduct of actors. Power does not exclusively refer to the threat or use of force (coercion) by one actor against another, but may also be exerted through diffuse means (such as institutions).

Power may also take structural forms, as it orders actors in relation to one another (such as distinguishing between a master and an enslaved person, a householder and their relatives, an employer and their employees, a parent and a child, a political representative and their voters, etc.), and discursive forms, as categories and language may lend legitimacy to some behaviors and groups over others.

The term authority is often used for power that is perceived as legitimate or socially approved by the social structure.

Scholars have distinguished between soft power and hard power.

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