Abstract
This article rejects the paradigm of “ancient sectarian hatreds” to explain the turmoil in the Middle East. Instead, the political context that illuminates the question of sectarianism is the persistence of authoritarianism and the crisis of legitimacy facing ruling regimes. The mobilization and manipulation of sectarian identities is a key strategy for regime survival, and it is within this framework that sectarianism can be better understood. Drawing on the literatures of ethnic mobilization and international relations, sectarianism is analyzed as a function of the authoritarian politics of the Middle East and not irreconcilable theological differences between Sunnis and Shias. Portions of this research were earlier presented in the Religion and World Affairs Series, a project organized and hosted by the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University and funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
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