In 1991 each nation displaced the Soviet Union as the other’s top security threat

Evidence

The year 1991 marked the crucial turning point in the shift of public opinion out of its Cold War mold. In that year each country displaced the Soviet Union in the perceptions of the other. For the first time Americans rated Japan ahead of the Soviet Union as a threat to American security, and for the first time Japanese rated the United States ahead of the Soviet Union as a threat to Japan’s security. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 596 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: In 1991 Japan and America replaced the USSR as each other’s top threat — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 596; International threats unify a nation while internal instability divides it — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1517; US officials framed the Soviet collapse as a succession by another enemy — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 686 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• In 1991 Japan and America replaced the USSR as each other’s top threat #corroborates (0.97) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 596
• Middle East bases persist to dominate oil reserves, not to deter the Soviet Union #complicates (0.73)