Power, Groups, and Policy Change

Who wins? Who loses? Why?

Political Power: The Engine Behind the Agenda

• Political power: The ability to get things done in a political system.
• Some groups win, others lose—no one wins all the time.

Losing Groups: Outmaneuvered or Outgunned

• Losing groups are unable to get their issues on the agenda or their solutions adopted.
• They have two main tools to expand the conflict:
  1. Use symbols to change the debate and induce sympathy.
  2. Appeal to a higher level or another branch of government.

Winning Groups: The Policy Monopoly

• Winning groups get their issues on the agenda and adopt their preferred solutions.
• They have a policy monopoly over an issue.
• They reinforce their own narratives, keep others off the agenda, and work to keep attention away from competing policies.

Three Types of Political Power

1. Coercive Power – Forcing others to do what they wouldn’t otherwise do.
2. Blocking Power – Preventing action or decisions (the power of “no”).
3. Quiescence/Powerlessness – Being unable to get issues or solutions considered at all.

Coercive Power

• Most obvious form: military, police, regulatory enforcement.
• Rare in democratic policy fights—easier in authoritarian regimes.
• “Do it or else.”

Blocking Power

• The power to say “no”: filibusters, vetoes, bureaucratic stonewalling.
• Most common in democracy—much easier to block than to act.
• Keeps issues off the agenda, or keeps action from happening.

Quiescence / Powerlessness

• Most groups experience this: no traction, no hearing, no seat at the table.
• E.g., the poor, unhoused, politically marginalized.
• Powerlessness is self-reinforcing—fail often enough, and groups give up trying.

Conflict Expansion: How Issues Move

• Conflict expansion is the core strategy for moving issues up the agenda.
• Groups expand conflict to draw in allies, gain attention, or force action.
• Major policy decisions at one level or branch can spark new fights at others.

How Does Attention Expand?

• Indicators: Bad numbers (unemployment, inflation) push issues to the fore.
• Focusing events: Major incidents (9/11, natural disasters, scandals) can instantly move issues to the front of the line.
• Strategic use of symbols and stories—turning a local issue into a national movement.

The Battle for Attention

• Attention sets the policy agenda.
• Priorities shift as events happen, narratives change, or new voices break through.
• If you can’t get attention, you can’t get action.

Recap: The Agenda as a Battlefield

• Problems are socially constructed.
• Groups compete to define problems and solutions.
• Political power determines who wins, who loses, and what gets done (or blocked).
• Coercive, blocking, and quiescent power shape the outcomes.
• Conflict expansion is the catalyst for policy change.

Up Next: Policy Types