Power relations according to Michel Foucault and Byung-Chul Han: an articulation proposal for the analysis of the complexity of local power in Mozambique

Abstract

This article comes about with the objective of analyzing the power relations in Michel Foucault and Byung-Chul Han to understand the complexity of local power in Mozambique. It argues that Foucault and Han's conceptions of power are important not only for the formation and constitution of current theories of power, but also for understanding the complexity of local power in the modern democratic states. This premise is supported by the conceptions of power advanced by these theorists, where, on one hand, power is a phenomenon that occurs in a bipolar asymmetric relationship, which establishes authority and obedience (Foucault) and, on the other hand, power is a phenomenon of continuity, where the will of the self can expand and continue on the other (Han). Based on a bibliographic, historical and process tracing analysis methodology, combining them with the hermeneutic-reflexive method, this article sought to understand the complexity of local power in Mozambique considering the lessons given by Foucault and Han. This article concludes that the conceptions of power in both Foucault and Han are very important to understand not only the current theories of power, but also to understand how complex the conception of local power is in the democratic states, and that Mozambique is not exception.

Keywords

• poder. poder local. foucault. han.