Rana Magdy. Public Domain. To understand how power functions, one needs to examine how it penetrates and controls the daily lives of the citizenry on the micro rather than macro level.
Of course, there are common indicators of how repressive a society is, such as freedom of the press, treatment of minorities, and the level of violence practiced by the state on its citizenry. However, this approach misses an important aspect of power, namely, how the masses are kept in line without the need to resort to mass violence.
Ideological domination is the tool used; it is accepted by the masses as an essential component of their social reality, leaving no room for cognitive dissonance.
