Leaders evoke the glories of the past for the wars of the present

Post-Maoist China followed a similar path, as the internationalist ideals once championed by Maoism (distinct from their Soviet counterpart) gradually receded. In its place, China moved swiftly to glorify its own past, celebrating both its resistance to foreign enemies such as the Japanese and Mongol invaders, and its image as a civilisation distinguished by technological and cultural sophistication.

Enemies and scripture

It is not just heroes that are conjured. During his war against Iran from 1980-88, which he dubbed "Saddam's Qadisiyyah," Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein revived a long-standing legacy of Arab-Persian antagonism, drawing upon a wide body of literature—from religious texts to Abbasid-era polemics—which rejected populist and heretical currents, and exalted Arab superiority.

Whether the resurrected past is real or imagined is of little consequence. Nazi Germany constructed a mythical narrative linking a supposed ancestral history to a future of prosperity spanning a thousand years for the German people. This vision rested on fabricated "evidence" claiming the racial superiority of a fictitious Aryan race.

A similar pattern can be observed in Israel's prolific use of religious texts and language in the context of war. From the biblical code names of military operations to official statements rich in scriptural metaphors and references to the teachings and sayings of Jewish prophets, Israeli leaders have strategically deployed religious history during times of war. 

Days after Israel began its response to the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and others, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the Amalekites from the biblical Book of Samuel. His office added a citation to indicate that Netanyahu was quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy. Both stories call for the Israelites to completely eliminate their attackers.

Risking further war

In all these cases, and countless others, resurrecting past glories and drawing on religious devotion represents an inexpensive and reliably effective way for regimes to rally their people, offering a convenient refuge in familiar narratives, allowing them to navigate crises without having to make any substantive concessions in their political discourse.

While the above examples stem from countries where ideology—whether religious, Stalinist, Nazi, or Zionist—pervades political, social, and economic life, and where enemies are confronted both on and off the battlefield, experience suggests that invoking the spirits of the past rarely bodes well for the people of such nations.  

In India, for instance, the Hindutva movement—rooted in the glorification of ancient imperial and cultural achievements—carries within it the seeds of ethnic and religious domination over fellow citizens. Similarly, the slogan "The Return of the Umayyads" serves as a thin veil for what could escalate into civil war in retribution for the suffering endured by Syria's Sunni population over the past six decades.

For leaders whose nations are under attack, evoking the spirits of the past can conjure the imagery and emotion required to mobilise a population. It can also light fires that cannot easily be put out. Bring the past back at your peril.