The Dictatorship of Fear: State Terrorism and Political Persecution in Nicaragua.

Abstract

State terrorism is defined as the systematic use of terror by a government against its own citizens or against other states, with the aim of maintaining political control, suppressing dissent, or advancing political objectives. This practice can include a variety of actions, such as torture, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and other forms of violence (Blakeley, 2009; Levitsky Ziblatt, 2018). In contrast to terrorism perpetrated by non-state actors, state terrorism is carried out by official authorities or agents acting on behalf of the government. It is usually justified by discourses of national security or defense of public order. In this sense, the term is used to describe situations in which a state employs terrorist practices as a tool of social control, unleashing fear and intimidation to suppress political opposition (Chomsky, 1991).