The Labyrinth of Power Politics

Just like power politics in international relations prioritizes national self interests over the interests of other countries of the world inter-party and intra-party power politics prioritize party’s politics and personal interests over other broader ideological motives. Within a party the spectrum of power politics ranges from individual’s thirst for grabbing power and lobbying to any other Machiavellian pursuits.

Significant in this regard is family politics. While some political parties appeal to great personalities who are often the founding fathers of the parties, the families of those great men most often retain the power and leadership owning to their hold on the legacy. Political legacy in such case becomes the touch stone of loyalty and those who share it are considered closest to the ideological side of the party. Sometimes, the close relatives of the powerful political families also fight for disputed legacy and hence they either overlap the activities of the party or share the power hierarchy or simply struggle for the leadership. Political legacy of the political leaders of the past is the hegemonic discourse which can be deconstructed by highlighting the aspects of appeal to authority.

The second most important aspect of power politics is the nuisance value. A party which is more conducive to nurture men of nuisance value than appreciating resourcefulness is likely to indulge in power politics and ideological compromises. Nuisance value is the ability to be too uncanny to disturb the power echelons than to prove competency that will ensure promotion of a cause. Such people of nuisance value are ardently advocated within the lobbies and welcomed into the strongholds either as a bargain to win over the political opponents or simply to strengthening the existing hierarchy of power politics. To counter nuisance value the existing power hierarchy needs to be disturbed quite often by either shifting personalities from one powerful position to another or encouraging lobbies on the principal of resourcefulness. Resourcefulness may refer to money, skills or other intellectual capabilities.

Power politics also means using the power networking. Those who use the power networking are usually outsiders who know the art of joining the power networking at the right time. And ideal situation for them is to wait till their inclusion may affect the balance of power. Such outsiders mostly include serving bureaucrats and their families who use the power networking for their vested interest very lavishly as there is always a chance that power networks with power. To give such outsiders a wide berth one has to constantly keep an eye on the balance of power and dilute the power of the outsiders by welcoming as many of them of conflicting interests as there could be.

Power politics is a weakness rather than strength. It cuts deep the ideological strings on the one hand and affecting democratic hierarchies on the other hand. A party might have different contours of power politics that the one mentioned above but it should be constantly diagnosed in order to make the ideology work and benefits extended on the principal of utilitarianism.