Yuval-Davis (ibid.: 181) criticizes also the assumption that people can increase their
power without having any negative consequences on the lives of other people. This
assumption is based on the distinction between 'negative' ('power over') and 'positive'
power ('power to', 'power from within', and 'power with'). Since positive power is no
zero-sum, powerless people can increase their positive power without diminishing the
power of others. Furthermore, the positive power does not imply establishing
domination over others. Such a construction of power rules out any possibility of
conflict not only between the oppressed and their oppressors but also among the
oppressed themselves. As Yuval-Davis (ibid.: 182) puts it, the automatic assumption
here is that no conflicts of interests can arise during the process of empowerment.
However, the notion of power has inescapably a conflictual nature. First of all, as
Young points out (1993: 158), "empowerment is not just about women acquiring
something, but about those holding power relinquishing it." Since those in positions of
power will not relinquish their power voluntarily, the empowerment approach needs to
be prepared for conflicts of interests. In addition, going back to the point made above,
one should be prepared for conflicts that might occur among the women themselves
in the course of their empowerment process. Finally, Yuval-Davis (ibid.: 194) draws
attention to the "old truism that 'power corrupts'." The author argues that "this can
also apply to the power of the previously disempowered people, and to power which
is only relative and confined to specific contingencies" (ibid.). Yuval-Davis (ibid.)
argues that the empowerment approach seeks to escape some dilemmas through its
construction of power, and warns against the simplistic notions of empowerment: