Opinion The rise of the microplayers

There is,clearly,a sense of helplessness evident in the corridors of power.

Is it a crisis of legislatures and governments alone,or is something more fundamental afoot? Is the crisis amenable to institutional quick-fixes alone or does it demand a deeper change in outlook? In a provocative thesis,Moises Naim argues that what we are seeing is a change in the nature of power. Naim,who served as a minister in Venezuela before moving on to editorship of Foreign Policy magazine,contends that it is nothing less than the “decay” of power as we have known it. In a just-released self-explanatorily titled book,The End of Power: From Boardrooms to Battlefields and Churches to States,Why Being in Charge Isn’t What It Used To Be,he works with a satisfyingly all-purpose definition of power: “Power is the ability to direct or prevent the current or future actions of other groups and individuals. Or,put differently,power is what we exercise over others that leads them to behave in ways they would not otherwise have behaved.”

Among the manifestations of this change he cites are the “Occupy” movements springing up in city squares. From Tahrir in Cairo to Dataran in Kuala Lumpur to,indeed,Jantar Mantar/Raisina Hill in Delhi and Shahbag in Dhaka,gatherings of the young and restive are spooking governments into initiatives that are often not fully thought out — see,for instance,the initial confusion over the age of consent in the anti-rape legislation.

Restlessness has always been part of the urban ethos but,as Naim notes,what we are currently seeing is new in its demographic and,importantly,in its ability to draw quick returns and consequently challenge traditional modes of political mobilisation. What is said of Occupy Wall Street arguably holds elsewhere: “In terms of speed,impact and new forms of horizontal organisation,the Occupy movements also revealed the erosion of the monopoly that traditional political parties once had over the channels through which members of society transmitted their grievances,hopes,and demands.”

These movements are one manifestation of what he calls micropowers,which “no longer require size,scope,history or entrenched tradition to make their mark”,and their assertiveness is challenging the ability of the megaplayers (big government,big business,big armies,big universities) to hold sway as before.

The key aspect is not just the diffusion of power,but the time horizon that is now available for those in positions of authority to exercise their power. It is almost as if the half-life of power is getting ever shorter. In the political sphere the reasons may be,as Naim suggests,the increasing frequency with which (on account of decentralisation,new elected bodies,smaller federal units,referendums,etc) politicians have to “re-earn the public’s consent”,the decline of the electoral majority and the rise of mobilisers whose calling card is their autonomy from established political players.

Crucially,he contends,the ebbing of power from high government jobs is not necessarily to the benefit of rival politicians or organisations,who,in an earlier time,could have been countered or co-opted. This loss of power by one is not accruing to the other: “Rather,it is draining from their office — from the high positions of power and prestige that have always been,for a political career,the ultimate reward.”

Checks on power are obviously democratising,but it is in order,says Naim,to consider the destabilising and paralysing effects of the erosion of the earlier clearly defined power centres. To reverse the paralysis in addressing domestic and global crises and contain the decay of power,he recommends nothing less than the restoration of trust in the political system,facilitated by wider political participation through modernised,retooled political parties.

How specifically this reversal is to be obtained is,however,not clear. But it is a quest that must interest politicians and those mindful that solving the big problems of our age needs much more than single-focus activism. Humanity may or may not be on the verge of a new wave of democratisation,but it is well worth asking the smaller question: what are the little ways in which power can be replenished so politicians can act upon their mandates? When politicians are being outflanked by microplayers of various kinds — the media,flash mobs,apolitical adversaries,Occupy protests — they would,of necessity,need to look beyond familiar forms of political combat.

The writer is a contributing editor for ‘The Indian Express’