Coercion as an Instrument of Counterterrorism Policy
What advantages disadvantages coercion force instrument counterterrorism policy? Explain giving suitable examples. 1500 words subject terrorism a globalised world
The use of force to make a person or community behave in an unwilling manner is referred to as coercion. Using intimidation, threats, or any form of force or pressure are some of the methods an individual can be coerced onto doing something involuntarily. Coercion methods are used for leverage, mainly to force a person to behave in the desired manner. During coercion physical injury or pain may be involved or it may be in the form of psychological harm. These actions are taken for enhancing the threats credibility. Obedience and cooperation of the individual can be achieved by, threatening further harm Airaksinen, 1988.
An extreme form of coercion is torture. Torture involves the infliction of severe pain on an individual until they give out the information desired.
There are various forms of coercion namely, physical, psychological, social, and legal. The most commonly used form of coercion is physical. In this form of coercion, an individual is threatened by using force on them, threatening their loved ones or their property. Physical coercion can also involve harming the individual though it does not result to destruction or death. Psychological coercion involves using blackmail to get an individual to cooperate. The most renowned example of psychological coercion was in China in 1951-1952. This happened during the campaign referred to as Thought Reform and was carried out in universities and prisons. Legal coercion is lawful force or pressure used on an individual to get them to cooperate with an investigation. The threats include using harsh penalty threats, or offer for the charges been dropped. Social coercion involves the fear of falling out with a certain group, and this makes individual do things out of fear.
The use of systematic terror for coercion is referred to as terrorism. There is no agreed upon definition for terrorism globally. The violent events that are intended to generate fear in people because of their religion, ideological, or political standings are referred to as terrorism. The term is emotionally and politically charged, and this makes it even harder to define the terminology. The use of force by one's state can be described as terrorism by other states, and this makes the term more controversial.
Advantages of using coercion
To counterterrorism, the military employs some form of coercion on its enemies. The continuous bombing of terrorist camps, which result in killing and capturing of the terrorist leaders, is a good example of physical coercion. This type of coercion makes the nation be seen as strong, and instills fear in the other terrorist nation. It also keeps the terrorist off balance and it is successful in disrupting their efforts. The continuous destruction of enemy camps and bases renders them in active and can be viewed as a coercion measure. This is because, the enemy will start feeling the pressure and change their behavior as they will continuously fear that their bases will be attacked, thus, making them start strategizing afresh if they will find a base that will not be attacked.
The captured leaders or individuals are coerced into giving out more information about any plans the terrorists had. The individuals can be either tortured until they provide the information or give out details of where their leaders are hiding Gunderson, 1979.
Other coercion methods can be used before torture is applied, only if the methods do not work is torture employed. Every individual or leader has a breaking point, in the fight against terrorism these individuals can be coerced until they break. All that is needed is an establishment of their breaking point. Using coercion the government can be able to find terrorism information before the event takes place.
Coercion power can also make the government be perceived to be more powerful than it actual is, which would become a psychological coercion against the terrorists. Playing on the psychologists minds and making them think the nation is well protected than it actually is confuses the terrorists and their plans get shelved. Influencing the terrorists' emotions, opinions, behavior, and attitude by using psychological actions and propaganda can help counter terrorism Shimon, 2000.
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