[FussyZeus]

Civil unrest. Protests that devolve into riots.

Ever seen the painting "Bastille Day"? There are always options when the powerful fail the powerless. Large amounts of modern society were put in place to prevent this sort of thing from happening, but if the leadership is intent on making those protections ineffective, well, there's always guillotines again.

[kazagistar]

For those who consider this uncouth or believe there must be another way: even if the answer is to come through reforms, having a tangible threat of revolution on the table helps bring meaningful concessions from those who have thus far preferred symbolic gestures to placate.

[xwdv]

What use is a guillotine against a hydra?

[FussyZeus]

I believe Hercules solved this one by cutting all the heads off at the same time. So, in theory, you just need one guillotine per head.