Power circulates through networks rather than being possessed by rulers

Evidence

Do not regard power as a phenomenon of mass and homogeneous domination—the domination of one individual over others, of one group over others, or of one class over others; keep it clearly in mind that unless we are looking at it from a great height and from a very great distance, power is not something that is divided between those who have it and hold it exclusively, and those who do not have it and are subject to it, Power must, | think, be analyzed as something that circulates, or rather as something that functions only when it is part of a chain. It is never localized here or there, it is never in the hands of some, and it 1s never appropriated in the way that wealth or a commodity can be appropriated. Power functions. Power is exercised through networks, and individuals do not simply circulate in those networks; they are in a position to both submit to and exercise this power. They are never the inert or consenting targets of power; they are always its relays. In other words, power passes through individuals. It is not apphed to them. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 47

Categorization

• DEFINE: Core definition of power as circulating relational network, with individuals as relays — key Foucauldian vocabulary.
• XREF: This non-proprietary, relational power directly scaffolds how Islamophobia analyses treat discourse as productive rather than repressive. — connects to: In totalitarian states, real power correlates inversely with institutional visibility; Political exclusion drives the mob toward conspiratorial readings of power — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 311; Power operates through indirect communication, not direct action — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 604 (+11 more)

Related

• Networks are how power operates, not how it gets dissolved (similarity 0.91)
• Power requires an economy of true discourses to function. (similarity 0.80)
• Disciplinary power is a network function, not a possessed property (similarity 0.79)
• Knowledge produced by discourse subjects those who are known to power (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Disciplinary power is a network function, not a possessed property #corroborates (0.95) — Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish- The Birth of the…, 273
• Power operates through indirect communication, not direct action #corroborates (0.78) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 604
• Coercive government power depends on voluntary cooperation from many #corroborates (0.75)
• Economic institutions depend on personal networks that generate trust and enforce norms #corroborates (0.72) — Coleman, SocialCapitalCreation-1988, 28