The end of the Cold War removed premillennialists’ central enemy figure

Evidence

The post–Cold War period made this vision increasingly untenable. Although some millenarians insisted that the fragmentation of the Soviet Union was a sham to deceive the West, over time the decay of the former Soviet states became undeniable. The centrality of the Middle East became more and more problematic as well. The Gulf War in 1991 temporarily reinvigorated conceptions of an ultimate world confl ict in the Middle East, but the war’s rapid conclusion dashed such hopes. In addition, a major war involving Israel became less likely, thanks to both peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and the end of Soviet aid to anti-Israel client states. Thus the loss of the traditional enemy was felt most acutely by millennialists. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 342

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The Cold War’s end removed evangelical militarism’s founding rationale — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White…, 321; Islam served neocons as a substitute Cold War enemy when the USSR collapsed — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 675

Broader Connections

• The Cold War’s end removed evangelical militarism’s founding rationale #corroborates (0.88) — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 321
• Islam served neocons as a substitute Cold War enemy when the USSR collapsed #corroborates (0.82) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 675