Actors care more about their power within an institution than about the institution's power in the world.
Schwarz's formulation. It predicts that a faction will fight harder against internal rivals than against opponents, which looks irrational until you notice which contest determines their position.
In practice
- A faction fights harder to control the campaign group than to win the campaign, and would rather lose in charge than win out of it.
- A department blocks a merger that would advance the organisation's mission and end its own head's directorate.