Analysing power: cultural power as one of 12 factors
Building cultural power into the analysis
This website argues that cultural power belongs in the analysis whenever we are assessing
- what stands in the way of achieving a social movement’s goals, or
- avenues and pathways for making these goals a reality.
Cultural power is ‘real’ power – just like ‘people power’, economic power or government power: having more or less of it can make a crucial difference in shaping political events.
Cultural power is part of the ordinary work of social movements. It is evident, for example, when:
- banks and corporations respond to pressure because their ‘public image’ is at risk.
- movements create iconic images and defining moments
- movements ‘catch fire’ because of the power of their stories and images –
the work of Greta Thunberg and the school strike movement stands out.
Cultural power is important for its role in shaping the ‘climate of opinion’ and creating a ‘political climate’ which makes it possible to exercise other forms of power, as well as the consequences when a social movement’s opponents have more power in the cultural dimension of politics.
What happens if social movements have high levels of ‘people power’ but their opponents dominate the debate – for example by using powerful narratives and images to trigger fears of refugees, immigration or terrorism? The resulting inflamed political climate is a political obstacle for progressive social movements: one that this site argues needs to be met with the cultural power of stories and images in response. ‘Information politics‘ alone is not enough.
(See also the examples of: • Trump’s 2016 election victory • how cultural power shaped the Rudd-Gillard-Abbott era in Australia • Australia’s 2019 election • notes on Trump, Brexit and the rise of the far right).
Power: 12 dimensions and factors
| Power: dimensions and factors | Notes & details | |
| "People power" |  | The community organising work of social movements |
| Economic power |  | Control over resources, investment, financial and economic decisions; the power of 'organised money' |
| Media power |  | Capacity to influence public opinion through control of media organisations and media content. The influence of social media and new media |
| Cultural power |  | The use of imagery, narrative and political theatre to: • make the issues visible, vivid, and emotionally-compelling • define the way in which people ‘see’ and 'picture' the issues • bring the issues into focus in the public mind • ‘win hearts and minds’ Cultural power is important for achieving changes such as those listed below: |
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| Identities, emotions, motivations... subjective factors |  | The power of identity, emotion and group identifications: how power relies on our identifications, values, fears, hopes, worldviews, and ways of perceiving or 'imagining' social reality. These factors matter when, for example, • people who support progressive policy positions vote for conservative candidates because they identify with their message • politicians stir up fear and prejudice, generating political support. These factors are important whenever people feel strongly about politics, feel enthusiasm or apathy about the issues, identify with a political group or leader, join, support (or oppose) a social movement, or change their minds. They are central to what moves people to act and (‘what makes social movements move’) (Eyerman, 2006). |
| Political will and political energy |  | The level of commitment and momentum to achieve a political goal: how 'charged' an issue is; the dynamism behind change |
| Power over information |  | The use and control of facts, research, knowledge and intellectual property |
| Structural power |  | Power structures organised around (e.g.) class, race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, the Global South and the Global North |
| Legal power |  | The way the law can be used to obstruct or promote achievement of political goals |
| Military and law enforcement power |  | Capacity to use force |
| Systemic power |  | Entrenched systems and institutions e.g. the financial system, the way the use of fossil fuels is "built in" to the way societies work. |
| Government power |  | The capacity to make and change laws, decide policy, shape the political agenda from government, allocate economic resources... |
Political success always depends on a combination of different forms of power, and no form of power by itself is enough to bring about change. It is worth considering how political success can rely – in part- on the relative strength of social movements’ stories and images – and on the drama or ‘theatre’ of political action, which ‘en-acts’ stories that we can see.
Each of the dimensions outlined in the table counts.
Cultural power is emphasised here not because it is any more important, but because it is often under-recognised.
Sometimes this means cultural power is not used strategically, leading to missed opportunities
(e.g. a large number of people turn out on the streets, however the moment ‘comes and goes’ without leaving much of a lasting cultural imprint).
Sometimes also, conservatives and the far-right dominate the terrain of cultural power – which can be at huge cost to the chances of achieving progressive goals.
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