Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of threats, including threats to use

force In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

of an individual in order to induce a desired response. These actions may include

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

, blackmail, or even

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

. Common-law systems codify the act of violating a law while under coercion as a duress crime. Coercion used as leverage may force victims to act in a way contrary to their own interests. Coercion can involve not only the infliction of bodily harm, but also

psychological abuse Psychological abuse, often known as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another person to a behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including Anxiety disorder, anxiety, c ...

(the latter intended to enhance the perceived

credibility Credibility comprises the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message. Credibility is deemed essential in many fields to establish expertise. It plays a crucial role in journalism, teaching, science, medicin ...

of the threat). The threat of further harm may also lead to the acquiescence of the person being coerced. The concepts of coercion and

persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

are similar, but various factors distinguish the two. These include the intent, the willingness to cause

harm Harm is a morality, moral and law, legal concept with multiple definitions. It generally functions as a synonym for evil or anything that is bad under certain moral systems. Something that causes harm is harmful, and something that does not is har ...

, the result of the interaction, and the options available to the coerced party. Political authors such as John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, and

Ronald Dworkin Ronald Myles Dworkin (; December 11, 1931 – February 14, 2013) was an American legal philosopher, jurist, and scholar of United States constitutional law. At the time of his death, he was Frank Henry Sommer Professor of Law and Philosophy at ...

contend whether governments are inherently coercive. In 1919,

Max Weber Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German Sociology, sociologist, historian, jurist, and political economy, political economist who was one of the central figures in the development of sociology and the social sc ...

(1864–1920), building on the view of Ihering (1818–1892), defined a state as "a human community that (successfully) claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force". Morris argues that the state can operate through incentives rather than coercion. Healthcare systems may use informal coercion to make a patient adhere to a doctor's treatment plan. Under certain circumstances, medical staff may use physical coercion to treat a patient involuntarily., a practice which raises ethical concerns. Such practices has also been shown to cause moral distress among healthcare staff, especially when staff attitudes toward coercive measures are negative. To minimize the need for coercion in psychiatric care, various models such as ''Safewards'' and ''Six Core Strategies'' have been implemented with promising results.

Overview

The purpose of coercion is to substitute one's aims with weaker ones that the aggressor wants the victim to have. For this reason, many social philosophers have considered coercion as the polar opposite to

freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

. Various forms of coercion are distinguished: first on the basis of the ''kind of injury'' threatened, second according to its ''aims'' and ''scope'', and finally according to its ''effects'', from which its legal, social, and ethical implications mostly depend.

Physical

Physical coercion is the most commonly considered form of coercion, where the content of the conditional threat is the use of force against a victim, their relatives or property. An often used example is "putting a gun to someone's head" (''at gunpoint'') or putting a "knife under the throat" (''at knifepoint'' or cut-throat) to compel action under the threat that non-compliance may result in the attacker harming or even killing the victim. These are so common that they are also used as

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

s for other forms of coercion. Armed forces in many countries use firing squads to maintain

discipline Discipline is the self-control that is gained by requiring that rules or orders be obeyed, and the ability to keep working at something that is difficult. Disciplinarians believe that such self-control is of the utmost importance and enforce a ...

and intimidate the masses, or opposition, into submission or silent compliance. However, there also are nonphysical forms of coercion, where the threatened injury does not immediately imply the use of force. Byman and Waxman (2000) define coercion as "the use of threatened force, including the limited use of actual force to back up the threat, to induce an adversary to behave differently than it otherwise would."Byman, Daniel L.; Waxman, Matthew C.: ''Kosovo and the Great Air Power Debate'', ''

International Security ''International Security'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of international and national security. It was founded in 1976 and is edited by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and publis ...

'', Vol. 24, No. 4 (Spring, 2000), pp. 5–38. Coercion does not in many cases amount to destruction of property or life since compliance is the goal.

Pain compliance

Notes

References

* * Lifton, Robert J. (1961) ''Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism'', Penguin Books.

External links