Performing Power

When the bronze statue of Edward Colston was thrown into the Bristol harbour, what was it about this spectacle that made it more effective than countless petitions to have the slaver’s icon removed? What animated Trump’s supporters to answer his rhetorical question ’who’s going to pay for the wall?’ during his 2016 presidential campaign? Why do leaders of social movements, or those seeking public office, bother to appear in front of audiences when they could just as well spell out their positions in writing?

The central contention of this book is that the exercise of power, and struggles for power, are inextricably linked to social performance. Political success can often be explained by the presence of engaging drama, just as political failure can be accounted for by its absence. The book explores the role of social performance in the exercise of power and evaluates the main ways in which performances of power have been understood in the social sciences, developing its own unique model for understanding them. Morgan argues persuasively that the social sciences need to take seriously the aesthetic dimensions of power, showing that in power struggles, appearance matters, and appearance is in large part achieved through performance.

Clearly written and illustrated with a wide range of contemporary examples, Performing Power will be of great value to students and scholars in political sociology, cultural sociology, and politics.

Marcus Morgan is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Bristol.