[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.
However, many other types are possible e.g. "emotional blackmail", which typically involves threats of rejection from or disapproval by a peer-group, or creating feelings of guilt/obligation via a display of anger or hurt by someone whom the victim loves or respects.