Despite the impressive amount of scholarly attention devoted to power analysis since World War II—and partially because of it—a number of questions remain unsettled or problematic. This chapter begins with a review of the fundamentals of power analysis, including the difference between relational and property concepts, the multiple dimensions of power, and the relevance of counterfactual conditions. It then considers twelve contentious “problems” in the power literature. These include theory-laden concepts, interests, essential contestability, zero-sum power, potential power, fungibility, intentions, measurement, reciprocal power, structural power, “power over” versus “power to,” and the role of costs in power analysis.
Review of Semantics and Morphosyntactic Variation: Qualities and the Grammar of Property Concepts by Itamar Francez and Andrew Koontz-Garboden
