British scholar Susan Strange (1996) offers Structural Power Thoeory and defines it as “the power to decide how things shall be done, the power to shape frameworks within which states relate to one another, relate to people or relate to corporate enterprises”. She distinguishes between four primary power structures:
• The knowledge structure, which influences actor’s beliefs, ideas or perceptions;
• The financial structure, which controls access to credit or investment;
• The security structure, which shapes defence and strategic issues;
• The production structure, which affects economic development and prosperity.