It's not recent, it's been creeping in for decades. All of the controls placed on society like suppression of free speech, disarmament of private citizens, indiscriminate surveillance, watchlists, it's all designed to preserve power and decrease transparency. Think of the government like a mafia who wants to expand and protect their rackets, and it makes a lot more sense, they allow or even encourage problems for the people they legislate over because it allows them to bring in further controls and justify giving more public money to their rich buddies. It's crazy but 15 years ago I believed the west had fuck all corruption, it's actually just more sophisticated in its corruption.