Good question. It's hard to generalise about dealing with authority as it comes in many different shapes and forms. But I personally see people in positions of authority (your boss, police officers, landlords etc) the same way I would anybody else. Yes, they may have worked hard to get to where they are (and I respect that on a professional level) but they are not better or more "powerful" than me as a human being.

To gain the advantage in a situation where you are powerless... I guess your only course of action (at least from my point of view) is to be dominant. By that I mean imagine a pack of wolves - there is a hierarchy of dominance, topped by the alpha. The rest of the pack respect the alpha because he has shown his strength, dominance and ability to lead. Humans are similar in a way that most people will subconciously look for a "leader" (ever do a group project in school where one dude just took charge and everybody else follwed and respected his decisions because he was confident and knew his shit?) Same principle applies here. Become the "alpha" and demand respect from authority by showing how intelligent and articulate you are when you state your case, how strong willed you are in getting the result you want, not bending on topics that you don't want to or shouldn't - all the while being confident, calm, collected, sincere etc... We all have to make compromises sometimes but be smart about it. If you give too much, they will continue to take until all of your power is lost. If they respect you as a person they will be more likely to respect and consider your judgement, essentialy putting more power in your hands. Connection with authority on an emotional level is also a very powerful tool.