Sean Gough

The concept of power has long been argued within the academic community with many academics not agreeing to any one interpretation or theory.  With such varying opinions and ideas it is difficult for a political scientist to decide on which conception of power it most useful to use.  By exploring the varying theories and interpretations of power offered by Weber, Lukes, Bachrach and Baratz as well as other prominent academics; the conception of power most suited for political science will be determined, with a focus on western politics.  The main problem which is encountered when attempting to determine the type of power that is best suited to the field of political science resides in the varying definitions of power and how they can be applied to the large field of political studies.  To show how agenda setting is the most effective form of power, due to the sway it can create, to be used when studying political science.  There will be a focus on western governments as examples to show that agenda setting has the ability to influence other factors within politics.  This ability to influence another by exercising power over another is the first of Lukes’s concepts of power (Plaw 2007, 489 - 490) and leads into the concept of authority which is vital in explaining legitimate power.  Legitimate authority as explained by Weber is given to many governments, primarily western ones, also known as rational legal authority (see Uphoff 1989) and has a direct relationship with power and how it is used to control not only a nation state but the people within the state.  In summary the power of agenda setting in political science is most useful as it is present in many forms of power presented by prominent academics and is able to yield the desired outcome consistently.