Decolonisation After Democracy: Rethinking the Research and Teaching of Political Science in South Africa by Laurence Piper

Author:Laurence Piper [Piper, Laurence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367583989
Google: F0WTzQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 53908654
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

Power

Power dictates who has control. Michel Foucault sees a relationship between power and knowledge and argues that the two concepts interrelate in order to (re)produce one another (Gordon 1980). This knowledge production has power dynamics in the sense that power privileges some forms of knowledge. Similarly, knowledge reifies power. Therefore, the colonial state used power (both military and economic/financial) to shape curricula in higher education (Ozawa 2009). At independence, the post-colonial state inherited that power and did what the colonial state had done. In response, academics called for academic freedom and university autonomy, thereby contesting this power. Students too derived power from protest to call for change. Therefore, it would be foolhardy to try and discuss curriculum changes without infusing power into the discussion.

We share Pallaver’s (2011) view that power is one of the most central and yet problematic concepts in international relations. This is so because the word ‘power’ can be understood in different contexts. In one sense, it means the ability to do something. In another sense, it refers to having an edge over another person. Thus, March (1966) was justified in concluding that on the whole, power is a disappointing concept. However, this does not mean that we can easily discard this concept due to the fact that it is disappointing.

Some people have power while others do not.Invariably,those who have the power are able to dictate the terms of engagement or interaction. In other words, they dominate in whatever is being done and determine the outcome by virtue of the fact that they have the power to doso. By contrast, those who do not have power cannot dictate theterms of engagement. Equally, those who have little power have little dominance. If we link this concept to curriculum changes, we could say that those who have the power decide the nature of the curriculum that will be taught at academic institutions such as universities.

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