Georg Zenkert shows that power in principle develops in three dimensions: power is firstly the ability to act, secondly control and lastly the constitutive power of a group. While Social sciences and political philosophy today reduce power to authority or control, it can be shown that all three dimensions are based in the history of political thought.

The widespread scepticism in regard to politics is a result of the inability to define a clear concept of politics. This is due to the fact that the relationship between politics and power has not been clarified. In Georg Zenkert's study, which takes not only an historical but also a systematic standpoint, the author shows that power in principle develops in three dimensions: power is firstly the ability to act, secondly control and lastly the constitutive power of a group. Each of these dimensions find its own suitable medium in the exchange of opinions, in the law and in institutions. The normative standars of power result from the development of the potential competence to act, the potential achievement of order and the potential integration within the framework of the political constitution, all of which are intrinsic to power.

Autorentext
Geboren 1960; Studium der Philosophie und der Kunstgeschichte Tübingen und New York; 1988 Promotion, 2003 Habilitation für das Fach Philosophie; Professor für Philosophie an der Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg; seit 2003 Mitglied der Fakultät für Philosophie und Geschichte der Universität Tübingen.