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Coercion involves compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner through the use of , including threats to use force against that party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desired response. These actions may include extortion, blackmail, or even torture and sexual assault. 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 self-interest. Coercion can involve not only the infliction of bodily harm, but also psychological abuse (the latter intended to enhance the perceived credibility 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 are similar, but various factors distinguish the two. These include the intent, the willingness to cause harm, the result of the interaction, and the options available to the coerced party.
Political authors such as John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, and Ronald Dworkin contend whether governments are inherently coercive. In 1919, Max Weber (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".
Quoted in: (2025). 9780300156324, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300156324 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.
Armed forces in many countries use to maintain discipline 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." Coercion does not in many cases amount to property damage or life since compliance is the goal.
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