<P> The use of power need not involve force or the threat of force (coercion). At one extreme, it closely resembles what an English - speaking person might term "influence", although some authors distinguish "influence" as a means by which power is used . One such example is soft power, as compared to hard power . </P> <P> Much of the recent sociological debate about power revolves around the issue of its means to enable--in other words, power as a means to make social actions possible as much as it may constrain or prevent them . The philosopher Michel Foucault saw power as a structural expression of "a complex strategic situation in a given social setting" that requires both constraint and enablement . </P> <P> Social psychologists John R.P. French and Bertram Raven, in a now - classic study (1959), developed a schema of sources of power by which to analyse how power plays work (or fail to work) in a specific relationship . </P> <P> According to French and Raven, power must be distinguished from influence in the following way: power is that state of affairs which holds in a given relationship, A-B, such that a given influence attempt by A over B makes A's desired change in B more likely . Conceived this way, power is fundamentally relative--it depends on the specific understandings A and B each apply to their relationship, and, interestingly, requires B's recognition of a quality in A which would motivate B to change in the way A intends . A must draw on the' base' or combination of bases of power appropriate to the relationship, to effect the desired outcome . Drawing on the wrong power base can have unintended effects, including a reduction in A's own power . </P>

Who is associated with study of power in politics