Increasing interdependencies multiply the power sources in society which cannot be politically controlled (which does not automatically mean that manifestations of power might be politically uncontrollable). In cases of high interdependency, withdrawal, slowing down, or even merely unwillingness to co-operate – little readiness to make sacrifices in order to provide contributions for which there may be a need elsewhere – become a major source of power which neither has recourse to physical force nor can be countered by threats of physical force.

XREF: Connects to theories of asymmetric power, network power, and 'weapons of the weak' — where disengagement and non-cooperation outmatch physical force in interdependent systems.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 770