A Metaphor for Countries

Imagine a vast dark field, with a handful of harsh spotlights being shone into it.

The government is behind the spotlights. "We're watching you! We're watching you!" they scream.
The peasants are cringing under the light, jammed together with everyone trying to fit into the circle. "We have nothing to hide! We have nothing to hide!" they plead. Occasionally shots ring out and kill some of the peasants. 

Government agents can't be modelled as rational, thinking animals. When they decide to punish someone, they're like criminals. Criminals victimize their neighbours because they're too lazy to go farther out. Likewise when government feels the need to punish someone, they snipe those under the spotlights because they're handy. The rifle is already pointed in that direction and everything. "Justice was done!" Whatever you need to tell yourself, I guess.

Secondarily, if you really want to pop some poor peasant's cranium, where better to stand than behind the spotlight? Quis custodiet. The government will never look there. Step 1 is always to climb the watchtowers. 

Anyone with sense can just not stand in the light. Governments have more blind spots than sight spots, and the spotlights are impossible to miss.
In theory you have to worry about dark-loving bloodsuckers, but almost all of them are attracted to standing behind the spotlights anyway. Only a few lost stragglers out here. That's handy.

Anyone with sense avoids standing in the towers too, because government agents have really bad BO. Absolutely reeks up there. It might be mainly the parasitic infiltrators, but they never get rid of the parasites, and get super mad if you try to do it, so six of one half a dozen etc. Secondarily, competing governments occasionally come and fire (or fire on) everyone in the towers so they can stand there instead. Typically these events will jostle the spotlight, so be careful of them if you're skirting around one.