The Possibility of a Preference-Based Power Index

This article replies to the claim that preference-based power indices are impossible and that preferences should be ignored when assessing actors’ influence in different interactions (Braham and Holler [2005] ‘The Impossibility of a Preference-based Power Index’, Journal of Theoretical Politics 17: 137-57). The article argues that preferences are an important determinant of potential and actual outcomes of social interaction and thereby a valuable ingredient of power analysis.