Understanding Power Dynamics and Constituent Power in Society
Power is Exercised Unidirectionally?
For Foucault, power is relational and not unidirectional. We tend to think that power is a property one either has or does not have. Social space is often presented under the vertical view of a pyramid, conceiving power as exerted unidirectionally. However, by studying leaders of egalitarian societies, we see that they must do more and be more generous to be recognized by others, out of admiration or fear. Power is not something one simply possesses; rather, power is relational.
Michel Foucault’s Conception of Power
Michel Foucault presents this conception of power. Property implies power, as their forms only point to terminals and address the specific mechanisms set in motion throughout society. If we understood these mechanisms, we would better understand social functioning and would see power as a set of forces that build social organization. Power is formative, a creator of subjective dispositions and social possibilities.
Power and the Construction of Subjectivities
Power determines the way social practices are carried out, constructing subjectivities. These are constructed in a complex manner through the devices of knowledge and power. The devices of knowledge/power are:
- Legal and correctional institutions
- Psychiatric and mental institutions
- Pedagogical and educational institutions
Such devices have in place strategies that make up the whole social order in a given historical moment.
The ultimate goal is to create in individuals a system of values, beliefs, and habits that enable them to develop a series of practices within the wider society.
This thinker argues that this whole network of devices and strategies is not built by a superior entity; rather, the company reaches specific systems by itself. The essays are the result of social forces, and the tension that builds the subject is impersonal: it. These movements are constituted by the internal forces that emanate from society itself. There are social groups that are stronger than others, but the result is the outcome of tension and strength. Michel Foucault would say that history shows what dies. However, it is also true that there are attempts to plan specific policy objectives independently, rationally, and equitably. The social system experiences moments when it can close in on itself. These are the moments of constituent power.
The Constituent Power
The Big Bang of Democracy
Constituent power refers to the process that seeks to provide the social system with a new political organization that would restructure the way it works. All or some of the key powers are in conflict, so that much of the set of social relations and practices need to be rethought. Constituent power tries to make way for “co-instituting” new practices, new subjectivities, and new forms of relationships within a new legal framework: a constitution or charter.
Source and Subject of Constituent Power
All constituent power has a source and a subject. The source is the place from which all the rules that allow us to live together arise, and the subject is the drafters of those rules.
Key Features of Constituent Power
The most remarkable features of the legislature are:
- The individual has power in operation; power = action = constituent expresses the creative potential of such power.
- The group’s temperament is animated by a democratic will.
- Antonio Negri speaks of the legislature as the real big bang of democracy, alluding to the expansive nature of the democratic ideals that are happening in different processes of social change.
- The process culminates in a constitution, becoming constituted power. This power will be the basis of the functioning of state institutions.
Forms of Legitimacy
- In favor of rationalist constitutionalism: The constituent power leads to a power set up as a system of equality before the law. This applies to everyone equally. John Rawls notes that the law can recognize the formal principles that should govern social relations. These principles, being rational, are accessible to any rational being.
- In favor of consensual constitutionalism: For consensualism, the constitutional process should lead to a power set up to establish a system of equality before the law. Divergent thinkers, such as Habermas, are listed in the way of justifying the legitimacy of laws and rights. They must be based on consensus between the social forces that are represented by different policy options during the constituent power. They do not believe that there is only one correct way to conceive of ideal social relations.
- In favor of a permanent constitutional process: Antonio Negri argues that the constituent power should not be straightjacketed by the forms imposed by the existing power, as this eliminates the continuous creative potential emanating from democratic citizenship. The assumptions of equality are not complied with in constitutional models; established power often loses touch with the real needs of citizens. Legitimacy would be given by the action of the legislature as a promoter of democratic values and aspirations.