Sovereign and Disciplinary Power in the inner-workings of Maganda Magazine

In Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Michel Foucault outlines two different forms of power—the sovereign power and the disciplinary power—using examples of a public execution (which displays sovereign power) versus a prison time table (which displays disciplinary power). With these examples, he supports that, while sovereign power is a public, violent spectacle and is meant to demonstrate the power of the sovereign, disciplinary power is all the more effective because it is invisible and mean to strike at the soul as opposed to the body. In this paper I will elaborate on the difference between sovereign and disciplinary power and describe how the two powers play out in my institution of study, the student organization and publication Maganda Magazine.
Foucault observes that history has made the slow transition from sovereign power to disciplinary power, proposing that disciplinary power is insidious and thus a more effective form. Acting on violent, public punishment, it is clear where sovereign power comes from (the king) and what its main purpose is (to demonstrate to the public the consequences of breaking the law). In contrast, because disciplinary power is so embedded in every aspect of our life, in every institution and micro-institution, it is difficult to really pinpoint where disciplinary power comes from. In this way, it strikes at the soul as opposed to the body because individuals internalize and self-correct their actions in case a form of disciplinary power is observing them (16). As an invisible force, disciplinary power works to rehabilitate individuals and correct their deviation from the norms of society.
With my student organization, Maganda Magazine, a mix of sovereign power and disciplinary power are at work. As the Editor in Chief of the magazine, it is clear to me that staff members look up to me as an authoritative figure and expect reprimand if someone is not doing their job. Being in the position that I am and having the title I have, it is difficult to express myself and my privilege of power in an invisible way, especially during staff meetings when I have to facilitate and make sure we are on the ball with everything. Here, sovereign power is at work, especially during our weekly staff meetings. In fact, I have recently instated this form of punishment and public humiliation where anyone who comes late to our staff meetings has to spell their name in the air using their butt. Everyone on staff agreed that this public humiliation will get people to come to staff meetings on time.
The fact that our publication runs on a strict production timeline shows how we operate using disciplinary power. At the beginning of each semester, we set up deadlines for ourselves so that we have a holistic sense of where our magazine is going. As a whole staff we agree to follow these deadlines. Though I exercise my power as the “sovereign” to punish people that do not follow the deadlines, I believe setting up the production timeline operates more as a disciplinary power because we all hold ourselves accountable to it. In this sense, power is decentralized because we all have the power. Secondly, if someone does not follow a deadline there is not public humiliation or reprimand where I torture the person for not conforming. Since everyone on staff feels it is their responsibility to follow deadlines, everyone on staff is hurt and affect when someone does not. Thus, this sets up an internalized feeling within each individual staff member that if they don’t keep up with the deadlines, they are hurting the rest of staff.