Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[mark.pearl]

I came across the following paragraph and can't catch up with it well. Wiil u tell me what it means? What's 'according to mechanisms of coercion which are, to varying degrees, strict) ' mean?Is the clause ' which are, to varying degrees, strictin' given in parenthesis used to modified 'coercion '?What does the author mean?
"Perhaps the equivocal nature of the term conduct is one of the best aids for coming to terms with the specificity of power relations. For to �conduct� is at the same time to �lead� others (according to mechanisms of coercion which are, to varying degrees, strict which are, to varying degrees, strict) and a way of behaving within a more or less open field of possibilities. The exercise of power consists in guiding the possibility of conduct and putting in order the possible outcome. Basically power is less a confrontation between two adversaries or the linking of one to the other than a question of government."
many thanks!

[dragn]