1. Your Assignment: Some Tools for
Exploring Power and Change
Duncan Green
Brandeis Proseminar
March 2012
Lecture 6
2. General Points
Multiple ways of understanding change
Power lens a good place to start
Are you trying to understand ‘from the
outside’? - either past or potential future
change
Or are you a would-be change agent
trying to design an influencing strategy?
– Tools different in each case
3. What is Power?
Power as force field
Ways of looking at power
– Visibility
– Spaces
– Four powers
10. Power Analysis for Advocacy:
Phase One
Define Change Goal
What laws, policies, practices,
relationships need to change?
What are obstacles to change? (e.g.
attitudes and beliefs, political groups,
financial/commercial interests, lack of a
feasible practical proposal)
What are the political opportunities for
change (e.g. legislative timetables,
elections, international negotiations &
summits)
11. Power Analysis: Phase Two
Who are decision-makers and institutions that
determine the change?
At what level are decisions made (international,
national, state, politician or official)
Who has formal and informal power on a reform
process?
Among these groups and individuals, which are
– most easily influenced by OXFAM/partners?
– The lost causes?
– the ‘shifters' - the undecided or persuadable?
Who influences the people in this key group,
who are often the principle target for our
campaign?
12. Power Analysis is permanent
Power
Analysis
Change Implement and
Hypothesis Evaluate
Select Change
Strategies
13. Some Possible Change Strategies
Active Citizenship
– Rights education
– Supporting People in the Streets
– Grassroots Leadership Training
– Public campaigning eg via media
Elites
– Direct engagement with politicians
– Research-driven engagement with
technocrats
14. Change strategies (continued)
Windows of opportunity
– Election campaigns
– Responding to shocks
– Seizing opportunities eg court cases,
scandals
15. Tactics: Think about
Alliances – how broad?
Conflict v cooperation – how
confrontational?
Problem/Solution/Villain
How to build broad coalition around easy
wins
Prescriptive or flexible?
Convening/brokering or responding to
opportunities v a specific objective