The Last Word
When the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917, their leader, Vladimir Lenin, predicted a wholesale reconfiguration of power in Russia. The post-revolutionary Soviet state would be one in which ‘the power of the workers and the poor is assured’, he promised: tsarist Russia had endowed individual leaders with ‘dictatorial power’, whereas Bolshevik Russia would champion ‘democracy’ and ‘the collegiums principle’ which demanded a more egalitarian distribution of power. Although the members of Lenin’s cabinet introduced numerous reforms, busying themselves decriminalising homosexuality and removing the conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, many of the hallmarks of the power exerted by their imperial predecessors survived. Political censorship and brutal repression of dissentients were ubiquitous. The leadership elite was enriched at the expense of workers and peasants who continued to live in horrific poverty. Perhaps most ironically, Lenin chose as his private residence in Moscow the Kremlin, an epicentre of tsarist power since the fourteenth century.
Contours of power have dimensions of continuity, but, as the authors in this volume illustrate, they are also in a perpetual state of flux as actors compete for influence and control. As the title of this volume suggests, part of the intellectual challenge of charting power lies in discerning when its content has changed, and when it has simply acquired a new face.
Certainly, many historical repositories of power remain active. Mekela Panditharatne documents the continuing relevance of states as power-brokers, arguing that national sovereignty continues to form the grid around which ‘global’ arrangements are structured. Marguerite Pettit describes one example of state power gone awry: in Papua New Guinea, bureaucratic corruption swindles customary landowners out of their title and their traditional sources of income. Regrettably, in this and other post-colonial states, traditional relations of power and disempowerment continue to flourish.
Contours of power have dimensions of continuity, but, as the authors in this volume illustrate, they are also in a perpetual state of flux as actors compete for influence and control.
But the battle for power is fierce and complacency is ill-advised when so many stakeholders are jostling for their share of the pie. As Mark Grime reveals, non-state actors have proven to not only have a profound impact upon their own states, but can also subvert the foreign policy objectives of neighbouring nations, including those of hegemonic proportions. Even among the global community of states themselves, power relations are dynamic. Several authors have reported on China’s success in accruing global influence. Wesley Lalich and Genevieve Curtis both interrogate the role which China has adopted in Africa. Curtis opines that China’s primary ambition in this continent is not to turn a profit for itself, but to triumph in a zero-sum contest for power against its western rivals. Although Lalich fears that China’s march through Africa will allow it to entrench authoritarianism or radically redefine democracy, he is cautiously confident that liberal governance is likely to thrive, suggesting that superpowers’ control is far from comprehensive. The West’s objective should be to mould how such actors exert their newfound power. The proposal of Sophia Chen, Daniel Liu and Richard Liu is that we should tie principles such as the rule of law and collective security to economic advancement in an attempt to reconcile the interests of disparate actors.
Such proposals invite consideration of the very character of emerging forms of power. As Glenn Kembrey observes, Japan has achieved a position of immense authority without a standing army at its disposal. Oliver Lindholm and William Han concur that in dealing with governments and citizens in the Middle East, exclusive reliance on either hard or soft power is foolhardy. The US and its allies should, they argue, adopt a more nuanced approach whereby they honestly appraise whether diplomacy or shows of brute strength will be more effective in obtaining desirable policy outcomes.
Critically, the authors in this volume chronicle meaningful and enduring shifts in the landscape of power that are not always accompanied by the fanfare of the October Revolution. Indeed, some of the most significant and insidious assumptions and extensions of power occur by stealth. Lukasz Swiatek scrutinises states’ exercise of ‘biopower’ in combating HIV/AIDS, positing that governments regulating life itself is a menacing prospect.
And yet despite the proliferation of pernicious new faces of power, this volume contains some streaks of optimism. Swiatek finds that states’ investment in regulating life has produced exceptional health outcomes, as longevity and general wellbeing have become litmus tests of governmental success. Moreover, deprivations of power induce disempowered individuals to enter the battle for power and wrest some control for themselves. Iran has become a laboratory for testing this proposition. Most obviously, the Republic’s democratic deficit has provoked ferocious opposition, especially among young Iranians who have used media technology to broadcast their discontent and coordinate strategy for grasping political control, a phenomenon charted by Jahan Navidi. Equally, according to May Samali, acts of silent resistance are compelling illustrations of seizures of power.
The Moscow Kremlin remains the working residence of Russia’s President. Less than two kilometres away, a new form of power has emerged: the McDonald’s restaurant in Pushkin Square is the fast food conglomerate’s busiest outlet in the world. Just as post-socialist states embrace the free markets of ideas and French fries, so should the West be alive to the consequences of reallocations of power – a strategy facilitated by robust and prolific debate about the location and nature of power. I applaud the authors in this volume for their contribution to this important conversation.
