Editing Power (social and political) (section)

=== Balance of power ===
Because power operates both relationally and reciprocally, [[sociologists]] speak of the "balance of power" between parties to a [[personal relationship|relationship]]:<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Weinstein
 | first1 = Rebecca Jane
 | chapter = Threats to the Mediation Process
 | title = Mediation in the Workplace: A Guide for Training, Practice, and Administration
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3AiJkfip6TIC
 | location = Westport, Connecticut
 | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group
 | date = 2001
 | page = 29
 | isbn = 9781567203363
 | access-date = 12 July 2020
 | quote = An imbalance of power may be obvious or subtle. An imbalance may stem from the dynamics of the personal relationship ....
 | archive-date = 23 October 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231023015028/https://books.google.com/books?id=3AiJkfip6TIC
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref><ref>Compare:
{{cite book
 | last1 = Tannenbaum
 | first1 = Frank
 | chapter = The Balance of Power in Society
 | title = The Balance of Power in Society: And Other Essays
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Nf7auA6zuqsC
 | series = Arkville Press
 | location = London
 | publisher = Simon and Schuster
 | date = 1969
 | page = 9
 | isbn = 9780029324004
 | access-date = 12 July 2020
 | quote = Competition, imbalance, and friction are not merely continuous phenomena in society, but in fact are evidences of vitality and 'normality.'
 | archive-date = 23 October 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231023015028/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nf7auA6zuqsC
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>
all parties to all relationships have ''some'' power: the sociological examination of power concerns itself with discovering and describing the relative strengths: equal or unequal, stable or subject to periodic change. Sociologists usually analyse relationships in which the parties have relatively equal or nearly equal power in terms of ''constraint'' rather than of power.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} In this context, "power" has a connotation of unilateralism. If this were not so, then all relationships could be described in terms of "power", and its meaning would be lost. Given that power is not innate and can be granted to others, to acquire power one must possess or control a form of power currency.<ref>
{{cite book
|last= McCornack|first= Steven
|title= Reflect & Relate: An introduction to interpersonal communication
|publisher= Bedford/St. Martin's|location= Boston/NY
|isbn= 978-0-312-48934-2|page= 291|date= 15 July 2009
}}
</ref>{{qn|date=July 2020}}<ref>{{cite book
 | last1 = Lehr
 | first1 = Fred
 | title = Power Currency
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CDOSzQEACAAJ
 | publisher = Rand-Smith Publishing LLC
 | date = 2020
 | isbn = 9781950544240
 | access-date = 12 July 2020
 | archive-date = 23 October 2023
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231023015528/https://books.google.com/books?id=CDOSzQEACAAJ
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>