Power analysis: A practical guide

This guide was developed in response to a recommendation of the Swedish Government Policy on Democratic Development and Human Rights, that power be analysed as part of context-specific poverty analysis.

The guide discusses ways of thinking about power, how power is created and operates, and how different forms of power interplay.  It includes examples of conducted power analyses. It explains the relationship between a political economy analysis (PEA) and a power analysis.  

The report discusses the importance of the process of doing a power analysis as well as the product it creates. It argues that power analysis should be seen as a process for the team that takes the initiative, sometimes involving other stakeholders. Power analysis is therefore a capacity-building endeavour that can bring a development process to a different and more effective level.