See if this doesn't sound to you like a textbook case

from Robert Higgs' Crisis and Leviathan.

Quotes from Putin, via the Washington Post:

"State authority must not only be adjusted to work in crisis situations...The mechanisms of its work must be radically reviewed in order to prevent crises."

He added that "the terrorists' long-term plans are aimed at disintegrating the country and shaking the state" and that "the country's unity is the main condition for resisting terrorists."

Fear of your neighbors leads to faith in the divine powers of Big Government.