This chapter argues that American pragmatism can inspire and support an important shift in prevailing social science discourses on power towards non-coercive, collaborative understandings of power consistent with a participatory democratic politics and way of life. It draws out an understanding of non-coercive, collaborative power from the works of Dewey and Follett, and illustrates its relevance for the analysis of power in the domain of action research. Collaborative power is here understood as power in the making’. Its chief merit is ensuring, first and foremost, cooperation between parties. The significance of collaborative power is more broadly applicable than the local communities in which the concept was originally developed. The concepts of circular response and integration of interest are useful in analysing collaborative power at the micro, meso and macro levels of society. Powerful people are, by virtue of their proprietary rights, able to change and reduce the effects of collaborative power.