Dialectics of Law and Coercion in the Context of Contemporary Challenges and the Russian Socio‑Cultural Experience

Abstract

The paper examines a central issue of contemporary discourse — the dialectical relationship between law and coercion. The author criticizes the liberal paradigm that reduces this relationship to a binary opposition (antagonism), ultimately describing law as an instrument for safeguarding individual liberty and coercion as a threat. In the author’s view, such an approach leads to a crisis in legal understanding, a disjunction between formal legislation and the deeper foundations of law, as well as a loss of state subjectivity and collective purpose. Conversely, the author advances the view that law and coercion constitute interdependent principles: law necessitates coercion to secure its enforceability, whereas coercion necessitates law to confer legitimacy upon its application. The key to their harmonious synthesis, according to the author, lies in taking into account the national socio-cultural context. Using the Russian tradition as an example, the author elucidates the model of «law mastery over coercion», in which law is intended not merely to limit coercion, but to imbue it with higher ideals of truth, justice, and the common good, rooted in the collective historical experience. The main conclusion is that the strength of Russian law depends on its rootedness in national identity and traditional values, which necessitates a corresponding transformation of legal education and legal doctrine.