PODER: «The theoretical starting point for power structure research is a seemingly mundane one, but that's what makes it very useful: power is rooted in organizations[...] According to sociologist Michael Mann's theory -- in my opinion, the theory that best suits power structure research -- the power structures within Western civilization, and probably other civilizations, too, are best understood by determining the intertwinings and relative importance at any given time of the organizations based in four 'overlapping and intersecting sociospatial networks of power' (Mann, 1986, p. 1). These networks are ideological, economic, military, and political -- 'The IEMP model' for short»

The Four Networks Theory of Power: A Theoretical Home for Power Structure Research (2005)