Coercion

Question 1

What is coercion

Answer 1

The use of force or pressure to make others do something they would otherwise not have done

Question 2

What are the different types?

Answer 2

Physical
Psychological
Economic

Question 3

What are physical forms of coercion?

Answer 3

Internment 
Imprisonment 
Use of military 
Secret police 
Exile

Question 4

What are psychological forms of coercion

Answer 4

Censorship

Religious

Question 5

What are economic forms of coercion

Answer 5

Financial Penalties

Employment

Question 6

Internment example

Answer 6

North Korea: inmates are often subject to collective punishment due to guilt by association
Israel: currently holds 500 Palestinians in “administrative detention”

Question 7

Imprisonment example

Answer 7

Myanmar: Key opposition figures may be targeted for imprisonment-Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest for 20 years in Myanmar for leading opposition politics against the military rulers.

Question 8

Use of military

Answer 8

Syria: In 2011 during Pro-Democracy rallies in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad used military force to suppress resistance, especially in the city of Daraa (25th of April) which was besieged by 6,000 Syrian army soldiers firing live ammunition at protestors.

Question 9

Secret police

Answer 9

GDR: The German Democratic Republic used the Stasi (State Security Department) to spy on its population, and is described by Reuters as the most effective repressive intelligence and security agencies ever.

Question 10

Exile

Answer 10

In 1959 the Tibetan people rose up against the Chinese invaders of 1950. This forced the Dalai Lama to flee to India where he established an alternative government.

Question 11

Censorship

Answer 11

China: Great Firewall of China; services like Google, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are blocked. Articles painting the leaders in a bad light are censored.

Question 12

Religious

Answer 12

Iran: Since 2005 Iran has had a special police force enforcing Islamic dress codes, and detain people disobeying.

Question 13

Financial penalties

Answer 13

Gambia: In June 2015 the Gambian government increased the fees to register a political party by 10,000%, however the measure was reduced to “only” 5,000%.

Question 14

Employment

Answer 14

Turkey: After the coup 2016, Erdogan removed 58,000 workers claiming that his aim was to “cleanse all state institutions” of suspected coup supporters.