Michael Mann’s Theory of Social Power

Abstract

The text deals with the question of European state formation in the
research of the famous contemporary British sociologist Michael Mann. The
article introduces and discusses Mann’s theory of social power, especially
his concept of state-formation, and also puts his theory into a broader
context through comparing his work with alternative state formation
theories, mainly with Charles Tilly’s conception. The text consists of five
main thematic parts. 1) The first is an introduction to the theory of stateformation. 2) The second is an analysis of time-space relations in Mann’s
theory of political development. 3) The third is a description of structural
and analytical connections between state and society in the author’s
treatise, and also a prelude to Mann’s conception of four key sources of
social power (ideological, economical, military, and political). 4) The fourth
main part deals with an analysis of the course of European state-building.
In this case Mann analyses mechanisms of state building in the feudal
period (800–1155 A.D.), the period of centralized, territorial states (1155–
1477 A.D.), the period of constitutional and absolutistic states (1477–1760
A.D.) and the period of modern polymorphous states (1760–1914 A.D.). 5)
The last part is focused on criticism of Mann’s theory of social power, its
confrontation with alternative theories, especially with Charles Tilly’s work,
and the conclusion of our findings.