Power and Authority in Political Actions in Europe

What kinds of power and authority make possible political action? This is a classic concern in political sociology but also one raised afresh in contemporary EU politics in various domains: migration, expert knowledge & professionalization, nationalism, social movement mobilization, and party leadership. While modern states are centers of concentrated power and authority, recent events and trends as well as new theoretical frameworks call attention to power resources outside of the formal boundaries of states or in interstitial spaces between states. This section will focus on contemporary expressions of power and authority in current EU political life, both with and across states. It will look at contemporary theoretical conceptualizations of power and authority as well as empirical expressions documented in research. Particular attention will be given to leadership as its efforts to legitimate particular courses of action. At stake is whether concepts of power and authority need to be tailored to apply to specific types of empirical realities or whether their analytical strength resides in application across a wide variety of situations. The proposed Panels will help advance our understanding on this key issue by offering a variety of situations to consider: political leadership careers and strategies, expert knowledge and professionalization, political mobilization, rights for migration, and nationalism as strategy.