  We explore a novel approach to compute the force between a static quark and a
static antiquark with lattice gauge theory directly. The approach is based on
expectation values of Wilson loops or Polyakov loops with chromoelectric field
insertions. We discuss theoretical and technical aspects in detail, in
particular, how to compensate large discretization errors with a multiplicative
renormalization factor and the evaluation using a multilevel algorithm. We also
compare numerical results for the static force to corresponding results
obtained in the traditional way, i.e., by computing first the static potential
and then taking the derivative.
