Unit 3: Power

Protestors at World Refugee Day demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, 2020.

Show description|Hide description

Two women protesting. One holds a sign and speaks into a microphone while the other looks on, supporting her.

Protestors at World Refugee Day demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, 2020.

Enthusiasm to bring change is admirable and necessary, but not enough. Head and heart need to work in tandem. This unit builds on the context and change analysis we did last unit and looks critically at how change really happens.

Firstly, we will explore how thinking about change in our societies from a systems perspective can guide us in the activities we choose to undertake and the scale of our ambition.

And we will also consider power; what it is, its different forms and why it is important for changemakers. Power analysis is a tool to understand the power dynamic that underpins and informs a system and a particular change action within that. You will be introduced to two power analysis tools and have an opportunity to apply one of them to your change issue.

Both the systems thinking and power analysis are critical tools for ensuring that the actions we take are more likely to be effective and sustainable.

Maximise

Show description|Hide description

The graphic depicts eight equal-sized circles. At the centre is circle one and the seven other circles orbit around this central circle. Arrows point between the central circle and the outer circles. In the central circle it says Unit 1 understanding ourselves and our own assumptions. The outer circles have the following text. Unit 2 understanding context and how change happens. Unit 3 systems and power. Unit 4 collective action, changemaker characteristics. Unit 5 influencing, power mapping, partners and allies. Unit 6 influencing strategies, messaging and stories. Unit 7 campaigning tactics, action plan, risks. Unit 8 reflection, adaption, overcoming challenges. The Unit 3 circle is coloured green and all the other circles are coloured blue. This emphasises that you are on Unit 3 of the course.

Oxfam's fleet of campaigning adbikes and pedicabs at the COP26 global day of action for Climate Justice in Glasgow.

A system is an interconnected set of elements that interact with each other and change in response to different interventions. A society is a system, as is an economy.

A defining aspect of human systems is complexity. The sheer number of relationships within a human system means change cannot be reduced to simple cause and effect. Knowing a bit more about the systems around us, and how others view and interact with those same systems, can help us both understand the world a little better and think differently about how to change it. It’s important to recognise that if we influence or change one part of a system, we are likely to affect another part directly or indirectly as well.

How do systems change?

As we saw in the first two units of the course, the way societies or economies change is often a combination of widespread tides of change (such as the way the population is ageing in much of Europe, East Asia and North America, the growing youth population across much of Africa, urbanisation in most parts of the world, the advance of digital technologies, reducing public trust in formal politics and institutions more generally, or overall improvements in education or healthcare), and unforeseeable events, sudden shifts, or critical junctures (such as political scandals, economic crises, pandemics, disasters, the start or ending of armed conflict).

These critical junctures often disrupt social, political or economic power relations, creating an appetite for new ideas and opening the door to previously unimagined reforms. Understanding and responding to the windows of opportunity or threat created by critical junctures is a crucial part of being a changemaker.

Baking a cake is a simple straightforward process. All you need to do is find a recipe, buy the ingredients, make sure the oven is working, mix, bake, and there you have it, a cake! Some cakes are better than others but the basic approach is fixed, replicable, and reasonably reliable. Some may think that a change process is like this, that you can take a tried and tested formula (e.g. a demonstration or a social media campaign) that worked in one situation and apply it elsewhere.

But making change happen in complex systems requires an adaptive, collaborative, and flexible approach. The future is full of unpredictability, full of ‘known unknowns’, such as what will happen after a leader dies or is ousted, and of ‘unknown unknowns’, such as sudden financial crises or natural disasters. Just as what has worked in one situation will not work in every situation, what has happened in the past is not a blueprint for the future.

Adapting as you go

Changemakers need to adapt to this inherent unknowability about the future by becoming ‘reflectivists’ as well as activists, building in chances to learn, listen, reflect and adapt their actions. It’s right to analyse and plan but as you implement you need to not only be aware of what’s changing around you, but also what you are finding out about the system you are engaging with as you take action. How are you interacting and affecting the system? How will changes in the system affect your plans? How can you learn and adapt?

As Donella Meadows, the environmental scientist and systems thinker, says: ‘Before you disturb the system in any way, watch how it behaves. Learn its history. Ask people who’ve been around a long time to tell you what has happened… learn to dance with the system.’

Now is a chance to take time to reflect on the system that surrounds the issue you are working on.

It is important to recognise that you will likely only see a partial picture of the different parts of the system that are connecting to your issue. Planning from the outset how you will stay alert to changes, gather feedback, learn and adapt as you go is essential.

Download this video clip.Video player: mch_unit3_3.4.mp4

Show transcript|Hide transcript

Transcript

ELENA MEJIA:

For me, it’s also like conflict, where you cannot make it invisible. You cannot do as if it doesn’t exist. The power imbalances can exist inside of your own group, of your own collective. But we can feel it, of course, in a more external, more global kind of way of perceiving power.

HADEEL QAZZAZ:

There are some authoritarian, some oppressive types of power that dictate the way you do work. And it could emerge from probably from some harmful social norms, from some practises malpractices in the community. However, I also came to know that there are some invisible powers that can be positive, that can help you to build the power within. Sometimes, the smile in an audience when you are speaking is this type of invisible power, that gives you strength and gives you support.

CHIOMA AGWUEGBO:

When you work in communities, and we try to make change happen, power is an essential ingredient. It’s precious for us. Speaking about the state of emergency movement, at some point we realised that the state houses of assembly weren’t latching on to our advocacy campaign quick enough. And so we decided to send handwritten letters to each of the members of the state house of assembly. And so what we did was, we created a network of civil society organisations in all of these states, and we gave them a little bit of money to be able to hand deliver the letters to the legislators in the states.

What this did for us was, it put the power into the hands of the local organisations in these states, as opposed to stretching ourselves, as the organisation in Abuja trying to achieve change. And so for us ensuring that we keep power situated locally as much as possible and decentralising it is really critical.

KELLY MUNDY:

I’ll think about what relation or power do I have to build public support and to bring people along with me. The relational power that I might have with people who can actually participate in the campaign, as an ally or bring something useful to the campaign, as well.

ART REYES III:

In our work, we have to think about power pretty multidimensionally. As our organisers are building a campaign, we think pretty explicitly in one dimension. Are we building power with or are we building power over? Power with maybe something that our communities have the existing resources to make the change that we need to make.

KELLY MUNDY:

When I think about the power around me and the people with power to make change happen, whilst I don’t have control over those, certain individuals, I do have the power to influence them. So then I’m thinking about, OK, well, what interests them? What is important to them? And how can I tap into that?

ART REYES III:

Power over, where we often are, is when there is an external decision maker that we need to be exerting influence over, to push them to make a decision. We have to be really, really clear that our communities are the source of our power. Then, we have to be very actively working to build and increase the leadership and power of our communities over time.

ERIC NJUGUNA:

For change to happen, we need to think about ways we can build power that can delegitimise and dismantle the systems of oppression that has led us into the climate crisis today. I always ask myself, who has the power? And in the context of the fossil fuel industry, for instance, fossil fuel companies have built power over knowledge we access on climate by sponsoring multiple, mainstream, climate newsletters, news series, and they have also bankrolled think tanks. As we move towards just transition, it is important to reckon with the power systems that have brought us into the climate crisis in the first place.

HADEEL QAZZAZ:

There is, indeed, some kind of power within, which is how I see myself and how I see my agency. It didn’t start like this, initially. It had to grow through education, learning, exposure to different, difficult situations, having difficult experiences in my life.

OUDAI TOZAN:

I don’t look at power as something I get from one source only. Being in a position of power gives me power. But also, having the knowledge, and expertise, and connections, and networks, and all of these, gives me another type of power.

HADEEL QAZZAZ:

My feminist friends and colleagues, my sisters in Chile, my mother, and other people who supported me all the way, and my father and husband, who were the only men who stood beside me at the beginning of my life.

CHIOMA AGWUEGBO:

Sometimes, inner strength for the work that I do can be found in a really good cry. When I feel frustrated, when I feel like things are not working, when I feel like we are not making progress as quickly as we should make it. But I think that, as an advocate, it’s important to have some sort of higher power that you draw from, regardless of who or what you worship. Just some place where you can be still, where you can meditate, where you can be spiritual, to derive some strength for the tasks and journeys ahead.

HADEEL QAZZAZ:

I was always driven by the willingness to change, and to stand up to certain difficult situations, and change them, within my small town, but also in my country.

End transcript

Download

 

In this video we hear from Elena, Hadeel, Chioma, Kelly, Art and Eric about how they think about power when working on change.

Hadeel, Oudai and Chioma also share their perspectives on how they strengthen their own power within.

Senior Chief Lukwa shows climate activists Jessy Nkhoma and Isaac Mzembe his beehives at his home farm in Kasungu District in Malawi. The chief embarked on the bee keeping project to promote conservation and tackle poverty at the grassroots level. This project is funded by the European Union.

Show description|Hide description

Senior Chief Lukwa and climate activists Jessy Nkhoma and Isaac Mzembe walk together through trees.

Senior Chief Lukwa shows climate activists Jessy Nkhoma and Isaac Mzembe his beehives at his home farm in Kasungu District in Malawi. The...

There’s more than one way of defining ‘power’.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘power’ is defined as:

• The ability or capacity to do something or act in a particular way
• The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events

So, power has two meanings – one personal, about what goes on inside an individual’s heart/head; the other about their ability to influence others. We discuss both of them in this unit.

Walk into any household, community, boardroom or government office, and there will be a web of power relations – some visible, some hidden, some invisible – that links and influences everyone present. Friends and enemies, parents and children, bosses and employees, husbands, wives and partners, rulers and ruled. No matter the political system, power – whether formal or informal – is always present.

At any given point, different kinds of power co-exist and interact with each other to produce a range of possible results that often defy our ability to plan and predict how change could happen. In that sense power can be seen as part of a ‘system’.

Examining power is an essential part of trying to understand and influence change. Those who have power can influence how people live their lives, can determine which rights people can enjoy, and even determine what a vision of society should look like. Power sets parameters on how social and political relationships evolve. Understanding who holds power, who does not, and why, is therefore fundamental to understanding change processes, obstacles to change and even conflict where it occurs. Who are likely allies or opponents of change? Who are those with most power and those with least power in this relationship? How have they treated each other in the past? Who listens to those who have less power? How do those with less power become more powerful? What is our own power in relation to others?

Power and identity

Seen in this way, many processes of social and political change are actually about the renegotiation and redistribution of power. Gender relations are, at their essence, relationships of power. Race relations are relationships of power. Similarly, other identities such as class, religion, sexuality, age, and (dis)ability all inter-relate with each other and with power. Taking this into account in a holistic way is often referred to as an intersectional approach.

For example, there are different kinds of power and inequality in relationships between women and men and non-binary people, shaped by the cultural and societal norms in which we live and shown through behaviours. The intersection between gender and power plays out and is learned in the home – in the private places in our lives. It is reinforced in public spaces with others and in the intimate world of our own minds. And it is affected by our other identities such as our race, ethnicity, age or economic status.

So, when we think about aspects of our identity we must always think about power. When we think about power, we must always think about identity.

What happens when you ignore power?

Power and influence is at the heart of human relationships. From the moment a child is born and becomes conscious of themselves and the world of relationships, the processes of influencing their parents and those around them, to address their needs, begins. At household, community, national and global levels certain people, institutions and groupings acquire and use power for their own interests and ends, in some cases denying or holding power over others. These power relations can become deeply entrenched, are not always immediately visible and can potentially cause the marginalisation and oppression of others. As such, power lies at the heart of change, and its denial.

As a changemaker you will need to influence people or institutions who hold decision-making power, influence and the resources to support or deny the change you are seeking. As a changemaker interested in making sustainable change at a community level or in people’s lives, then shifting power relationships so that your constituency or community has more say and more power to influence, will need to be part of how you achieve change.

Understanding power, your own and others’, and how to use and engage with it is the only sure way to achieve and influence change. Ignore power at your peril.

Oxfam campaigners pose as G7 leaders during a demonstration in Munich in 2022, asking them to choose the right course in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic with a people's vaccine.

Show description|Hide description

A group of campaigners dressed as world leaders holding a sign which reads 'Covid, Climate, War. Tax windfall profits – end poverty!'

Oxfam campaigners pose as G7 leaders during a demonstration in Munich in 2022, asking them to choose the right course in fighting the ...

Power analysis is a tool to deepen understanding of where power lies in social change processes. It helps us identify who we need to engage with to achieve change and it stimulates questions that ensure that any action is built upon involving those that we seek to support and who we hope will benefit from the change.

The outcomes of change can be unpredictable and may cause harm to the very people we are trying to help or to others we had not considered. Ensuring that people are consulted and participate in any change process which affects them removes some of that unpredictability and ensures better outcomes.

There are lots of different ways to understand power.

Two frameworks that many activist organisations find useful are the Four Expressions of Power approach, and the Forms of Power approach. Frameworks like these can help us to understand different aspects of power and from that derive strategies that help us to influence or contribute to change. No one framework is right all the time, and indeed you may have your own. It is a case of trying different tools out and seeing which way of thinking about power is useful for a better understanding of any given situation.

We will look at the case study of the Chiquitano people of Bolivia to understand how these two frameworks, the four expressions of power and the forms of power, help us to analyse how change happens.

Download this video clip.Video player: mch_unit3_3.7.mp4

Show transcript|Hide transcript

Transcript

NARRATOR:

Power over: positive or negative authority, control over individuals, groups or institutions; can be backed by force.

Power to: power that comes from having or developing skills, knowledge and tools, and the capacity to use them effectively to influence others.

Power with: power that comes from collective action, alliance and joining together to plan, build and act.

Power from within: confidence that comes from self-esteem, a belief in one’s right to act and occupy space and be treated well by others, and the belief that change is possible.

End transcript

Download

 

Watch the video for a closer look at the four expressions of power framework.

We can apply this framework to help us understand how change happened in the Chiquitanos case study:

Power Within: The change took place as part of a wider evolution of Indigenous identity. In the 1980s, inspired in part by Chiquitano language radio programmes, the Chiquitanos for the first time began to identify themselves as Indigenous people. Indigenous identity began to replace the class-based peasant identity promoted by the nationalism of Bolivia’s 1952 revolution. As one elderly woman explained, ‘Only a short while ago did we begin calling ourselves Chiquitano Indians... we look alike, we were all handed over to the bosses... they called us cambas or peasants until not long ago.’ More recently, access to education means that young members of the Chiquitano communities have been able to attend university for the first time.

Power With: The dawn of ‘power within’ rapidly led to ‘power with’ in the form of cultural associations, which rapidly acquired an explicitly political nature. The Chiquitano Indigenous Organization (OICH), represented more than 450 communities. A turning point came when the Chiquitanos decided to join up with Bolivia’s far more numerous highland Indians. ‘We met with one of the highlands leaders,’ recalls Chiquitano leader, now Senator, Carlos Cuasase, ‘and we said, ‘Look brother, you have the same problems that we do, the same needs.’ We agreed not only on [the law to nationalise] hydrocarbons but also to defend the rights of indigenous people of both highlands and lowlands.’ Working against these collective efforts however are the interests of logging and mining companies who are reported to seed social division by buying off certain leaders and communities.

Power To: After protests toppled President Sánchez de Lozada in October 2003, identity documents became easier to obtain and candidates were allowed to run independently of traditional political parties, which led to major gains for indigenous peoples in the 2005 municipal elections.

Power Over: In the words of a Chiquitano activist, ‘My father never realised our rights. We just did what the white people told us; only they could be in power, be president. We couldn’t even go into the town centre, people swore at us. But then we got our own organisation and elected our own leaders and that’s when we realised that we had rights.’ Chiquitano activists know that their struggle for rights is not over. The power of central government decisions around Bolivia’s economic model, particularly the emphasis on extractive industries means that their land is still threatened by deforestation.

Show description|Hide description

A young boy looks up at a large military vehicle that is passing by.

Now let’s look more closely at the second framework.

The forms of power we are referring to are: visible power, hidden power and invisible power. The relative importance of each changes with context.

• Visible power – this is power which is visible in public spaces or formal decision-making. It relates to observable power negotiated through institutions. So, this might refer to political bodies, such as legislatures, government bodies, local assemblies, or consultative forums and the way they work. It can also relate to the way decision-making works in our own organisations. This is the form of power that dominates discussions in the media – the to and fro of formal politics. It includes formal policy, regulatory and budgetary processes. It can also refer to rules and laws in society, and the authorities responsible for upholding these including the police, the military and the justice system.
• Hidden power – control over those with visible power through behind-the-scenes action/influence. How does money (e.g. campaign finances or bribery) shape political action/inaction? Who is lobbying whom? Who decides who gets invited to the meeting, or gets to speak? Who frames the discussion and sets the agenda? What gets onto the agenda and what is kept off? Whose views are judged ‘unhelpful’? How does individual gain affect the choices and actions of different individuals?
• Invisible power – this refers to aspects in society that shape people’s view of the world and their place in it, and includes norms, beliefs, ideologies, privilege, and culture. It often defines what is seen to be right and wrong, acceptable or normal. Invisible power can be used to create consensus, to empower people but can also be used to dominate others. It determines how we treat each other, whether some groups are systematically privileged or excluded, and whether groups are targeted as ‘the other’ on the basis of their gender, ethnic background, class, religion, or other identity.

Maximise

A graphic depicting the three forms of power described above.

Show description|Hide description

Forms of power: Visible power: observable power relations negotiated through formal institutions; Hidden power: control over those with visible power through behind-the-scenes action/influence; Invisible power: norms, beliefs, ideologies, privilege, and culture that shape people’s sense of themselves and their world.

A graphic depicting the three forms of power described above.

Now we will apply this framework to understanding the change process in the Chiquitanos case study:

Victory for the Chiquitano people required a profound change in invisible power, transforming their definition of who they were, as their self-identification as Indigenous became more prominent. With that came growing organisation and the ability to understand and confront the hidden power that, for example, prevented Chiquitanos from participating in formal politics or even entering the town square. Only then were they able to attain visible power, both at local and national level.

Members of Abante Kababayen (Forward, Women), a women’s organization, and Joy Lumawod (center) display the equipment Centre for Disaster Preparedness provided their town. His dedication to women’s rights has earned him their trust and friendship, Philippines.

Show description|Hide description

Members of Abante Kababayen women's organisation gather together, surrounding Joy Lumawood. They are all smiling. One woman shouts into a megaphone, while another raises her hands in the air.

Members of Abante Kababayen (Forward, Women), a women’s organization, and Joy Lumawod (center) display the equipment Centre for Disaster ...

We have looked at two sets of guiding frameworks shown below, the Four Expressions of Power tool and the Forms of Power tool.

Maximise

Show description|Hide description

Four expressions of power. 1: Power over: positive or negative authority, control over individuals, groups or institutions; can be backed by force. 2: Power to: power that comes from having or developing skills, knowledge and tools, and the capacity to use them effectively to influence others. 3: Power with: power that comes from collective action, alliance and joining together to plan, build and act. 4: Power from within: confidence that comes from self-esteem, a belief in one’s right to act and occupy space and be treated well by others, and the belief that change is possible. Forms of power: Visible power: observable power relations negotiated through formal institutions; Hidden power: control over those with visible power through behind-the-scenes action/influence; Invisible power: norms, beliefs, ideologies, privilege, and culture that shape people’s sense of themselves and their world.

Now it is your chance to apply power analysis to the change issue you are working on. Using both tools, identify the relevant expressions or forms of power you will need to take into account as you develop your change action.

Cynthia and her family members walk home after fetching water at a solar powered water point in Hatcliffe, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Show description|Hide description

Cynthia and her family walk away from the camera towards home, holding large buckets of different colours on their heads.

Cynthia and her family members walk home after fetching water at a solar powered water point in Hatcliffe, Harare, Zimbabwe.

In this unit we have investigated some important underlying issues which affect the success or failure of change processes.

We have looked at systems and how complexity is an inevitable part of the societies in which we live. Systems thinking values the ability to ‘accept the unexpected’ and take advantage of accidental opportunities. Being prepared for this will help you notice and react more quickly to opportunities and constraints and make better action plans. It also encourages us to make sure we are thinking about the unintended direct and indirect consequences of our changemaking.

We have also looked at power using two different tools; helping us to understand the expressions of power (within, with, over, to) and the forms of power (visible, hidden, invisible). We have applied this power analysis to understand change processes through a case study, and you have applied it to the issue that you are working on.

The power and systems approach encourages multiple strategies rather than a single linear approach, viewing failure, iteration, and adaptation as expected and necessary. Over the next units we will look at how you can develop your skills to do this and how you can increase your power to make change happen.

Further reading

• Systems Thinking video – a useful short video explaining how a small change fits into a wider system.

• Gender e-learning – an additional online course which looks in more detail about how gender and power interrelate.

In Unit 3 of this course the topics have been – taking a power and systems approach, defining power, the tools for analysing power, and understanding systems.

Now test your knowledge on what you have learned with this short quiz.

Mayne, R. and Coe, J. (n.d.) Power and social change [Online]. Available at: http://www.oneeastmidlands.org.uk/ sites/ default/ files/ library/ NC586_12b_power_social_change.pdf (Accessed 15 August 2023).

Oxfam (2014) Quick Guide to Power Analysis [Online]. Available at: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/ resources/ quick-guide-to-power-analysis-313950/ (Accessed 15 August 2023).

Oxfam (2015) Systems Thinking: An introduction for Oxfam programme staff [Online]. Available at: https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/ resources/ systems-thinking-an-introduction-for-oxfam-programme-staff-579896/ (Accessed 15 August 2023).

PowerCube (n.d.) Background to powecube.net, [Online]. Available at: https://www.powercube.net/ an-introduction-to-power-analysis/ background-to-powercube-net/ (Accessed 15 August 2023).

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw Defines Intersectionality (14 September 2018), YouTube video, added by Rich Russo [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sWP92i7JLlQ&t=19s (Accessed 15 August 2023).

The Donella Meadows Project (n.d.) Dancing With Systems, [Online]. Available at: https://donellameadows.org/ archives/ dancing-with-systems/ (Accessed 15 August 2023).

Sources for Chiquitanos case study

Cáceres, E. (2008) Territories and Citizenship, the revolution of the Chiquitanos, Oxfam [Online]. Available at:https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/ bitstream/ 10546/ 112383/ 1/ fp2p-cs-territories-citizenship-chiquitanos-140608-en.pdf (Accessed 16 October 2023).

Green, D. (2024) How Change Happens 2^nd Edition, Duncan Green, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press: https://fdslive.oup.com/ www.oup.com/ academic/ pdf/ openaccess/ 9780198899952.pdf

Green, D. (2019) ‘Return to Chiquitania: What’s changed in the 13 years since my first, mind-blowing visit?’, From Poverty to Power, 12 July [Online]. Available at: https://frompoverty.oxfam.org.uk/ return-to-chiquitania-whats-changed-in-the-13-years-since-my-first-mind-blowing-visit/ (Accessed 16 October 2023).

JASS Power Guide: https://justassociates.org/ power-guide/