Rosa Brooks argues that the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks created institutional pathways that ultimately enabled authoritarian tendencies in American governance. Her analysis traces how emergency powers and security measures expanded executive authority beyond traditional checks and balances.

Brooks opens with a personal account of September 11, 2001, recalling her drive to work while listening to National Public Radio. She describes colleagues wandering office halls in shock, some crying, others gathered around computer monitors replaying the towers' collapse and victims falling to their deaths.

The piece connects these traumatic events to the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, suggesting that the normalization of extraordinary executive powers during the war on terror established precedents for circumventing democratic processes. Brooks contends that fear-based governance became institutionalized.

While the article focuses on political rather than technical developments, it highlights how crisis-response mechanisms evolved into permanent tools for consolidating authority, demonstrating that emergency governance structures can persist long after their intended purpose expires.