ABSTRACT
Despite its central role in community, regional, and national life, the concept of power remains underdeveloped in the community theory literature (Gaventa, 1980; Waste, 1986; Stone, 1986; Fisher and Sonn, 2007; Domhoff, 2007). While community power is formally and informally recognized as important, an exploration of the process by which power emerges, evolves, and is managed within the confines of the community, remains scant in the research and theoretical literature (Gaventa, 1980; Beaver and Cohen, 2004; Fisher and Sonn, 2007). This is in part due to a lack of uniformity in conceptualization, as well as the complex mingling of history, culture, and local capacities which shape power structures. A need therefore exists for a more complete understanding of this important social entity and the complex processes through which it shapes local well-being.
