What Does “carrot and stick” mean?
Definition:
If you use the carrot and stick technique to persuade people to do something, you combine both rewards if they do it and punishment if they do not.
Origin
This phrase refers to an offer that involves a reward countered by the threat of punishment. It alludes to a method used to entice a horse or donkey to move by hanging a carrot before it and/or pushing it forward by hitting it with a stick. The carrot serves as the attractive offer and the stick symbolizes the threat. The idiom is first thought to appear in the mid-1800s.
The carrot-and-stick method is widely used in politics. For instance, it was used by Joseph Stalin during and after World War II to establish stronger control over the states of the Soviet Sphere of Influence.
Example(s)
The president took a carrot and stick approach to the protests against his new laws.
The government intends to use a carrot and stick method to force both parties to negotiate.
