How Leaders Use Fear as Power To Shape Our World
Fear as Power: this is Part Two of my journey into fear narratives.
Part One was deeply personal. It began with a speech from someone in power and the uneasy feeling that followed. A moment where I felt my own instinct flicker for just a second. A moment of self doubt that made me stop in my tracks.
I could not shake that feeling. It stayed with me for days. And the more I thought about it, the more I realised something important.
Fear is not only something we feel. Fear is something we are given. Fear is shaped. Fear is delivered. Fear is repeated. Fear is strategically placed into public stories.
Once I saw that, I began to notice fear not only inside myself, but across the world around me.
The ‘Fear as Power’ pattern began to reveal itself
After the NATO speech, I did what I always do when something unsettles me. I went searching. I read the full transcript. I watched the clips again. I compared articles. I spoke with historians. And this time, I listened for the structure rather than the message. That is when I heard the pattern:
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The threat is moving towards us.
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Time is closing in.
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We must act as if we are at war.
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We need more spending.
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There is no alternative.
It was not only information. It was emotional instruction. And what really drew my attention?… what was missing.
Almost no detail. Almost no depth. Very little clarity. Almost no explanation of the scenarios. No space for the public to think for themselves.
Just urgency. Just danger. Just fear.
Looking back, I think my self doubt arrived because my body recognised the manipulation before my mind could organise the words. And once that pattern became visible, other things started to make more sense.
The United States and China
A story built on fear, misunderstanding, and history
Over the past few years, its become hard not to fall into the long and complicated story of the United States and China. Not because I’m trying to become a geopolitical expert, but because I’ve been genuinely exhausted by hearing the same message again and again. China is the enemy. China is the danger. China cannot be trusted.
And this no longer just a US driven narrative. It’s slowly filtered into everyday conversations with family, friends and neighbours. And I kept thinking, really? Are we so sure this is the whole truth? Because the world has a long and painful history that gives us every reason to question the integrity and intentions of the United States political and military system…Right!? That tension pushed me to start reading, not to take sides, but to understand the emotional script behind the story.
China before the pivot
I remember hearing about China going through a very difficult and unstable period in the eighties and nineties. From economic hardship to social transition. Its was a country trying to stabilise after decades of internal challenges.
This was exactly the moment the United States saw China as an enormous opportunity. Factories, cheap labour, unlimited production capacity and a vast population ready to consume “Western” goods.
A chance for US companies to cut costs and dominate global supply chains. I was fascinated reading how entire industries were built on this moment.
The belief that China would become more “Western”
And this is where it gets crazy… What surprised me most was discovering that many in Washington genuinely believed that economic cooperation would slowly make China more open, more democratic and more “Western” in its values.
As I write this, it feels almost surreal to say out loud.
After all, China is a civilisation thousands of years old. A deep, complex, ancient society rooted in culture, philosophy, and identity.
Meanwhile, the United States is a young nation only a few centuries old, built through colonisation and expansion.
The idea that the United States could culturally reshape a civilisation of China’s depth through trade feels simplistic, arrogant and most definitely naive. A projection of its own worldview onto a culture it did not understand.
Then China grew into itself, not into the United States shadow
China did rise and modernise. But it did not become “Western”. It rose through its own story, not the one the United States expected of it.
China moved from factory floors into advanced technology. It became a technological force in its own right. Solar. Telecoms. AI. Batteries. Chips.
And at that moment, fear entered the narrative in Washington.
The tone changed when the fear arrived
Between 2012 and 2018, the story shifted. The friendly story ended and a new story was born.
China as partner became China as competitor, and finally China as threat. Trade became tension. Cooperation became suspicion. Dialogue became sanctions. Fear shaped the new relationship.
Suddenly, I recognised the same emotional structure as the NATO speech.
The same rhythm > The same urgency >The same narrowing of choices
Fear as power. Fear as the narrative tool.
Where Climate Enters this Story
Climate change is central to my work, so I cannot ignore it in this piece. At the same time, speaking about it this way makes me feel vulnerable, because I work in climate storytelling.
I know the urgency is real. I know the crisis is happening. I know communities are living the consequences right now.
But something inside me shifted when I began to see fear appear again and again in public narratives.
Fear exists in some climate communication as well. Not because people manipulate intentionally, but because the stakes feel so heavy that fear becomes the only language left.
Reports become alarms, warnings become countdowns, urgency becomes constant pressure and we risk overwhelming the very people we are trying to reach.
I want to speak about this honestly and with care, but I am still wrapping my head around it. So I am writing a separate article about fear in climate storytelling. It deserves space of its own.
Keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks.
The ‘Fear as Power’ Script
Across all of this, I began to see that fear has a very specific structure.
In the NATO speech:
Danger > Urgency > Limited time > Only one choice
In the United States China story:
Opportunity > Rise > Competition > Threat
In climate communication:
Crisis > Countdown > Collapse > Paralysis
I want to make my understanding very clear.
- Russia is a real threat.
- China is a real threat.
- Climate breakdown is painfully real.
- And we in the “West” have been, and continue to be, a real threat more than we want to admit.
I am not questioning facts. I am questioning the way fear is used as the emotional gateway to those facts. Because fear shapes the listener before the information arrives. And that is where self doubt enters. It clouds our instincts. It narrows our imagination. It interrupts our inner guidance.
… and that’s exactly what happened to me as told in Part One.
What this ‘Fear as Power’ exploration has taught me
- I have learned that fear as power works quickly.
- I have learned that fear as power without clarity creates confusion.
- I have learned that fear as power without detail encourages obedience.
- I have learned that fear as power without community leads to collapse.
- I have learned that fear as power without imagination cannot build a future.
Most of all, I have learned that once you start hearing fear as a script, you begin to see it everywhere. And that changes how you see the world.
Wrap ‘Fear As Power’ up Gregg…
To bring this part to close… if Part One was about the moment where fear made me doubt myself, Part Two is about the architecture of fear itself.
In Part Three, I want to explore something deeper. Why we fear difference. Why we attempt to control what we do not understand. And how fear shapes our relationships, our societies, and our shared future.
What we fear is one thing. Who taught us to fear it is another.
To be continued…
Fear as Power Narratives FAQ’s
Q: What is a fear as power narrative?
A fear narrative is a public story built around urgency, danger, and limited choices. This article explores how fear is used to influence emotional reactions in politics, geopolitics, and climate communication.
Q: Why does fear create self doubt?
Fear can overwhelm clear thinking and weaken our sense of personal instinct. When leaders use fear, it can cause people to second guess their own understanding of events.
Q: How do fear narratives appear in climate communication?
Climate fear is often used to signal urgency, but constant alarm can lead to overwhelm and numbness. A separate article explores this topic more deeply.
[…] article, Fear as a Product is part of my Fear Narrative series: Part 01 was deeply personal and Part 02 spoke of Fear as […]