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).
[4]: 126 Political authors such as John Rawls, Thomas Nagel, and Ronald Dworkin contend whether governments are inherently coercive.
[5]: 28 In 1919, Max Weber (1864–1920), building on the view of Ihering (1818–1892),[6] defined a state as "a human community that (successfully) claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force".
[10] 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.
Armed forces in many countries use firing squads to maintain discipline and intimidate the masses, or opposition, into submission or silent compliance.