Power is not exercised unless the relationship of the participants to their respective avoidable alternatives is differently structured, in such a way that the power-subject, rather than the power-holder, would have a preference for avoiding his alternative – in our example, violence – and that this relationship between the way the participants relate to their avoidable alternatives can be recognized by the participants. In short, the power-code must bring about a relationability of relations.

DEFINE: Defines power as dependent on structural asymmetry in participants' avoidable alternatives, not merely on force or dominance.

Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, loc. 620