What are a shift in power relations?

A shift in power relations is when one group becomes stronger and another becomes weaker, like a game where someone gets more toys and someone else loses theirs.

Imagine you and your friend are playing with blocks. You both take turns building towers, and it’s fair, no one has more blocks than the other. That’s how things usually are. But then, one day, your friend gets a big bag of extra blocks from their mom. Now they can build much taller towers than you can. This means your friend has more power in the game, that's a shift in power relations.

Think of a playground, sometimes one kid is the boss and everyone follows them, but then another kid comes with a bigger group and takes over. That’s a shift in power relations, too!

Just like how you might trade your favorite toy for a bigger one at the store, power can change hands when things get better or worse for different people.

If you’re used to being the tallest kid on the playground, and suddenly someone else is taller than you, that’s a shift in power. It might feel surprising, but it’s just like changing teams in a game!