I believe the whole reason why governments fear terrorists is because terrorists challenge government's authority and for governments to exist and stay in power they can't have ordinary citizens questioning or challenging them.
It's not only governments who fear ISIS, it's a lot of the people who live in areas they now control.
Essentially I am an anarchist at heart so I mistrust the governments of Russia and the PRC as much as the U.S.'s. I have no doubt the U.S. will be involved in a new war within a year of the election.
To me, anarchy looks like a constant series of battles among people without a majority of power and the struggle for survival at the level of tribal warfare becomes the focus for life, whereas in a more structured society the struggle for survival is less violent. Nation states can provide stability, security, and secular institutions that protect rights, etc., I think it's well known. Do we have less net violence or do we just export it in foreign wars and drone attacks? I think the statistics show it's less net violence, so no anarchy for me.
As far as mistrust of governments, you can consider how to deal with that problem and also what are the alternatives for society. One way to deal with the problem is by holding the authority accountable the same as a service provider, through competition. During the previous years when the USA was the dominant or sole super power, we've had an economic decline at home as well as fruitless wars in the Middle East that also cost us money, all while our infrastructure was declining in its current state and not being advanced either. In a world where there are multiple super powers, there is a kind of accountability through competition that might prevent the hubris seen since the fall of the USSR. Just a thought.
