ABSTRACT
While George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden have very different views on the causes of the global upsurge in anti-Americanism, they do agree on one thing: these are fearful times. Fear is increasingly the centerpiece of state and non-state geopolitical strategy, from the terrifying strike on the World Trade Center, to the “shock and awe” campaign of the US military in Iraq. Because distant and amorphous threats of violence are difficult to detect and defend against, they instill great fear. But the instillation of such fear is not random or irrational. Rather, strategic and instrumental objectives frequently lie behind it. Fear can be a powerful technology of governance (Rose 1999).
