ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the concept of dependence as a distinctive context for the exercise of authority. It shows that the complexity of dependence when authority is powerfully assigned. The chapter explores how in a profoundly dependent context, the leaders were able to exercise authority by paying careful attention to the process and avoiding either collusion with or dismissal of dependent expectations. A distinction may usefully be drawn between "dependence" and "dependency". W. R. Bion in his seminal work wrote of the dependent basic assumption as "dependence". "Dependence" is a human characteristic, a property of both individuals and groups. In group relations conferences some conventions of everyday life are removed or ignored in order to enable the participants to explore and study unconscious processes. In order, therefore, to explore how authority functions in the context of dependence and dependency it is useful to study an institution that operates with these dynamics.
