ABSTRACT
Coercion involves two or more parties who are in
conflict and whose relationships are
complex and uneasy. Generally speaking, people resent coercion and, when
possible, rebel against it. This paper differentiates between circumstantial
coercion and person-based coercion, between coercion and brute forms of
oppression, and between
benevolent and malevolent coercion. Government interference to combat murder
for family honour serves as a clear example of benevolent coercion. The paper
further discusses the coercer’s intentions and specifically addresses the
issues of paternalistic coercion, coercion via third-party,
and self-coercion. Two further distinctions are offered: between internalised
and designated coercion, and between coercion enforced by a minority versus
coercion imposed by a majority.