What do the state and governance have to do with terrorism? An attempt to reflect on this question requires discussing the pertinent systemic properties and the role of the leadership of the state, especially concerning its formational process and the relationship between governance and the concept of terrorism. The presentation discusses the concept of terrorism and its use in the context of state-making as a continuous elite-led process to which governance by fear is integral. The ambiguous concept of terrorism is seen from a utilitarian perspective as a tool of state-making through “fear governance” by using rhetoric and political and legislative measures to create and ostracize a defined social “other”. Its use, therefore, creates rather than bridges social cleavages.

--