The internal enemy had to be actively found, not merely faced

Evidence

Much like the Hutu Presidential Guard, the Hutu moved “from confronting the enemy that seemed to advance relentlessly on the battlefield or on the diplomatic frontier” and “turned around to face the enemy within” (207). Yet that enemy had not simply been there to be faced. It had to be found and, indeed, searched for. They turned “away from the enemy on the battlefield … [and] looked for an enemy within” (215). — Gil Anidjar, The Jew, the Arab, 52

Categorization

• QUESTION: How does the ‘search for an internal enemy’ relate to narrative construction in propaganda — what textual/discursive moves make the enemy visible?
• STORYSTEM: A society that must actively invent its internal enemy is a strong premise for a political thriller or dystopian fiction where the hunt itself becomes the organizing social principle.