… constraint through force is easy to understand. In effect, the closure of plants considered as illegal by the authorities (for example, the closure of a plant that emits hazardous pollutants through police control), physical control and violence on the part of the law enforcement agencies in response to the opposition of target groups or beneficiaries (for example, occupation of lands intended for the construction of a controversial road) are all examples of the use of force which can be dissociated conceptually from the other resources, even if they are legitimated by the law and generally dependent on human resources.

Public policy actors do not often avail of this resource. First, entire policy sectors do not have access to specialized police forces that can act in this way (for example, specialized police brigades allocated as a priority to a particular area are rare) and, second, the solution involved here is deployed as a last resort. Nonetheless the capacity of public actors to physically constrain an individual or target group of a policy with a view to modifying a behaviour should not be neglected. To this end, the threat of recourse to force can be a determining factor in the policy implementation process.

To avoid being arbitrary, the use of force by a public authority must always be proportional to the intended objective and be based on a legislative provision. When target groups or beneficiaries use violence by deploying mostly illegal means (for example, “ecoterrorist” actions such as the blockage of a property-related resource available to another actor, for example, a nuclear waste convoy), they are seeking a resource that enables them to express claims that are perceived as legitimate but not legally recognized.

The use of force is a very delicate matter and generally requires Political support. In the absence of such support, it runs the risk of prompting the loss of the resource Consensus for a long period of time. Moreover, in certain situations the recourse to Force should be highly publicized to be effective. In the area of road safety, for example, it would appear to be impossible to physically control those who contravene the rules of the road at all times and in all places.