Nationbuilding: How People Move, Talk, Think, Organize, & Structure Themselves, 1888, Amsterdam University Press' Wrote:To speak of power in the socio-political sense is a broad and somewhat cloudy topic, but in the broadest sense possible, Power is the ability of one entity to get another entity to do what the first wishes. More than two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Euripides wrote "The Tongue Is Mightier Than The Blade" on the difference between coercive and social powers, and this distinction is important. Power can come from a number of sources, ranging from coercive power derived from force, consequences, or threats thereof, to more subtle social powers derived from culture, diplomacy, ideals, values, ideologies and other such institutions.

As the ancient philosopher noted, coercive power has its limits in comparison with more social powers; it breeds resentment and resistance, and its influence lasts only so long as the threat lasts. In contrast, social powers can be attractive and appealing. This is not to make moral judgments on either form of power and are simply categorizations of sources of socio-political power; an army liberating thralls through coercive power is unquestionably more moral than a political leader using their social power to agitate for the purging of ethnic and religious minorities.

Furthermore, while coercive power in the form of warfare is a major consideration for international relations, it should be noted that every nation that depends on coercive power for internal cohesion is fundamentally unstable, due to the transient nature of coercive power. Such nations inevitably disintegrate once the coercive power is removed or weakened and provinces kept under control by the threat of force break away. In contrast, a nation with a strong social power is more stable over time, from the presence of institutions and a coherent identity.

Travolore Wrote:Captain Keyla Kaeno plans to extract Kara and Cal and finally gets a long awaited signal for help...

Quote:FINALLY I get Cal out of his clothes and on the road to being a Nudist. But hey at least I didn't spend twenty chapters on this planet alone right Travolore.