Potestas: Spinoza's Notion of Political Power Spinoza’s concept of political power, or potestas, is developed primarily in the Theological-Political Treatise and the Political Treatise. In these works, he examines the nature of dominion, sovereignty, command, and the institutional structures through which political communities are governed. Unlike potentia, which refers to the immanent power of individuals and corresponds to what Spinoza, in the Political Treatise, identifies