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Sectarianization: Mapping the New Politics of the Middle East
As the Middle East descends ever deeper into violence and chaos, 'sectarianism' has become a catch-all explanation for the region's troubles. The turmoil is attributed to 'ancient sectarian differences', putatively primordial forces that make violent conflict intractable. In media and policy discussions, sectarianism has come to possess trans-historical causal power.
This book trenchantly challenges the lazy use of 'sectarianism' as a magic-bullet explanation for the region's ills, focusing on how various conflicts in the Middle East have morphed from non-sectarian (or cross-sectarian) and nonviolent movements into sectarian wars. Through multiple case studies -- including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait -- this book maps the dynamics of sectarianisation, exploring not only how but also why it has taken hold. The contributors examine the constellation of forces -- from those within societies to external factors such as the Saudi-Iran rivalry -- that drive the sectarianisation process and explore how the region's politics can be de-sectarianised.
Featuring leading scholars -- and including historians, anthropologists, political scientists and international relations theorists -- this book will redefine the terms of debate on one of the most critical issues in international affairs today.
This book trenchantly challenges the lazy use of 'sectarianism' as a magic-bullet explanation for the region's ills, focusing on how various conflicts in the Middle East have morphed from non-sectarian (or cross-sectarian) and nonviolent movements into sectarian wars. Through multiple case studies -- including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen and Kuwait -- this book maps the dynamics of sectarianisation, exploring not only how but also why it has taken hold. The contributors examine the constellation of forces -- from those within societies to external factors such as the Saudi-Iran rivalry -- that drive the sectarianisation process and explore how the region's politics can be de-sectarianised.
Featuring leading scholars -- and including historians, anthropologists, political scientists and international relations theorists -- this book will redefine the terms of debate on one of the most critical issues in international affairs today.
320 pages, Paperback
Published February 20, 2017
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About the author
Nader Hashemi
11 books12 followersNader Hashemi is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an Assistant Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 27, 2017
This book is one of my favorites on the Middle East for 2017. Fourteen strong essays in two parts. The key claim of the book is the argument that "notwithstanding the historical and theological significance of this (Sunni and Shi'i) divide it does not explain the explosion of sectarian conflicts in the Arab Islamic world today—in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, and beyond—or the rise of groups such as ISIS." The attempt to make sense of the turmoil engulfing the Middle East today through this seventh-century prism badly distorts our understanding of Middle East conflicts, the toxic brew of authoritarianism, kleptocracy, developmental stagnation, and state repression is far more salient. As Madawi al-Rasheed writes there are sectarian entrepreneurs and religious scholars who continue to flourish in the present” by manipulating sectarian identities in the interest of ruling regimes, often at their request. Sectarianism, in other words, “is a modern political phenomenon that is nourished by persistent dictators whose rule depends on invoking these old religious identities that become lethally politicized. So this book argues for an instrumentalist view of sectarianism.
Part one of the book provides an analytical approach to the subject from a historical, geopolitical and theoretical perspective. Ussama Makdisi takes a western hegemonic (orientalist) view and argues that too often "we allow the word "Sunni" or "Shi'i", or "Christian" to take the place of a coherent, historically, grounded argument, as if being Sunni or Shi'a is self-evident as if it precludes other forms of identification, and as if it were a singular identity. The reality is that, like the words “fanaticism” or “barbarism” or “terrorism,” analytically speaking, there is no such thing as a transhistorical sectarianism. He traces modern sectarian politics in the Middle East to the Ottoman empire and three overlapping, interconnected, factors. 1) the rise of ethno-religious nationalism that fundamentally challenged Ottoman Muslim supremacy militarily, geographically, politically, and ideologically. 2) the rise of sustained Western imperialism (and rivalry), and so-called imperial humanitarianism, which, in turn, precipitated 3) an Ottoman reformation that changed the logic and definition of empire: from being an empire of difference, the Ottoman state sought to become, paradoxically, an empire of citizens. I think it is helpful to read the case studies in the book through Makdisi's lense. Bassel Salloukh gives us an insightful introduction to the geopolitics of the region, before and after the Arab uprisings that started in 2011. He concludes that sectarianism in the Middle East is not a consequence of immutable or timeless religious differences but is, rather, driven by the sectarianization of otherwise realist geopolitical battles and the consequent post-uprising collapse of the state’s coercive, institutional, and ideological capacities in a number of countries with plural societies. Yezid Sayigh argues in his chapter that the sectarian narrative confuse
appearances with causes. Many of the region’s states are experiencing deep, structural crises, threatening societal cohesion and destabilizing internal political alignments. (see al-Rasheeds's argument above). In his chapter Adam Gaiser sketches a methodological approach to what contemporary academics call sects, denominations, or other kinds of intra-religious divisions among Muslims. What he calls a narrative identity approach he orients the study of Muslim intra-religious divisions toward questions about how Muslims acquire, maintain, and manipulate their communal affiliations, the extent to which such affiliations might overlap with other kinds of affiliations (or break down altogether), as well as the question of how local circumstances affect the “activation” of sect identification. (p.61) He concludes that newer models of sectarianism are highlighting the process of sect creation and maintenance over the identification of traits that identify “types.”
The second part of the book covers case studies starting with Pakistan (not in the Middle East and text is somewhat outdated). This chapter could well have been replaced by one about Egypt, which unfortunately is missing from the book. Fanar Haddad writes about Iraq pre-2003, Hilu Pinto about the Syrian civil war and Madawi al-Rasheed about the sectarianism as counter-revolution, the Saudi response to the Arab spring (one of the stronger essays in the book). Iskander Boroujerdi writes about Iran's security doctrine and regional implications (with a helpful taxonony of militias). Stacey Philbrick Yadav covers sectarianization in Yemen, and Toby Matthiesen writes about Bahrain and sectarianization as securitzation, identity politics and counter-revolution. Bassel Salloukh writes insightful about Lebanon (as have Makdisi in a great book). Madeleine Wells analyses Kuwait in a well written chapter.
Timothy Sisk summarizes that sectarianism is the result of a conjuncture of external and internal historical processes that 1) have roots in the Ottoman period, 2) reflect a failed century of “nation building” in the region and 3) were exacerbated by the deep social dislocation and insecurity that have gripped the region since the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Precisely because sectarianism is a socially constructed and historically contingent phenomenon in the Middle East, there should be identifiable ways to take measure to deliberately deconstruct and attenuate sectarian conflict through peacebuilding and inclusive or less competition-focused democratization and state-building. (p. 261) A principal concern going forward will be the context-specific monitoring and evaluation of political institutions in each of the countries of the region to manage the eventual pressures for greater democratization in a manner that enhances inclusion, respect, and representation.
A wonderful and insightful academic read.
Part one of the book provides an analytical approach to the subject from a historical, geopolitical and theoretical perspective. Ussama Makdisi takes a western hegemonic (orientalist) view and argues that too often "we allow the word "Sunni" or "Shi'i", or "Christian" to take the place of a coherent, historically, grounded argument, as if being Sunni or Shi'a is self-evident as if it precludes other forms of identification, and as if it were a singular identity. The reality is that, like the words “fanaticism” or “barbarism” or “terrorism,” analytically speaking, there is no such thing as a transhistorical sectarianism. He traces modern sectarian politics in the Middle East to the Ottoman empire and three overlapping, interconnected, factors. 1) the rise of ethno-religious nationalism that fundamentally challenged Ottoman Muslim supremacy militarily, geographically, politically, and ideologically. 2) the rise of sustained Western imperialism (and rivalry), and so-called imperial humanitarianism, which, in turn, precipitated 3) an Ottoman reformation that changed the logic and definition of empire: from being an empire of difference, the Ottoman state sought to become, paradoxically, an empire of citizens. I think it is helpful to read the case studies in the book through Makdisi's lense. Bassel Salloukh gives us an insightful introduction to the geopolitics of the region, before and after the Arab uprisings that started in 2011. He concludes that sectarianism in the Middle East is not a consequence of immutable or timeless religious differences but is, rather, driven by the sectarianization of otherwise realist geopolitical battles and the consequent post-uprising collapse of the state’s coercive, institutional, and ideological capacities in a number of countries with plural societies. Yezid Sayigh argues in his chapter that the sectarian narrative confuse
appearances with causes. Many of the region’s states are experiencing deep, structural crises, threatening societal cohesion and destabilizing internal political alignments. (see al-Rasheeds's argument above). In his chapter Adam Gaiser sketches a methodological approach to what contemporary academics call sects, denominations, or other kinds of intra-religious divisions among Muslims. What he calls a narrative identity approach he orients the study of Muslim intra-religious divisions toward questions about how Muslims acquire, maintain, and manipulate their communal affiliations, the extent to which such affiliations might overlap with other kinds of affiliations (or break down altogether), as well as the question of how local circumstances affect the “activation” of sect identification. (p.61) He concludes that newer models of sectarianism are highlighting the process of sect creation and maintenance over the identification of traits that identify “types.”
The second part of the book covers case studies starting with Pakistan (not in the Middle East and text is somewhat outdated). This chapter could well have been replaced by one about Egypt, which unfortunately is missing from the book. Fanar Haddad writes about Iraq pre-2003, Hilu Pinto about the Syrian civil war and Madawi al-Rasheed about the sectarianism as counter-revolution, the Saudi response to the Arab spring (one of the stronger essays in the book). Iskander Boroujerdi writes about Iran's security doctrine and regional implications (with a helpful taxonony of militias). Stacey Philbrick Yadav covers sectarianization in Yemen, and Toby Matthiesen writes about Bahrain and sectarianization as securitzation, identity politics and counter-revolution. Bassel Salloukh writes insightful about Lebanon (as have Makdisi in a great book). Madeleine Wells analyses Kuwait in a well written chapter.
Timothy Sisk summarizes that sectarianism is the result of a conjuncture of external and internal historical processes that 1) have roots in the Ottoman period, 2) reflect a failed century of “nation building” in the region and 3) were exacerbated by the deep social dislocation and insecurity that have gripped the region since the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Precisely because sectarianism is a socially constructed and historically contingent phenomenon in the Middle East, there should be identifiable ways to take measure to deliberately deconstruct and attenuate sectarian conflict through peacebuilding and inclusive or less competition-focused democratization and state-building. (p. 261) A principal concern going forward will be the context-specific monitoring and evaluation of political institutions in each of the countries of the region to manage the eventual pressures for greater democratization in a manner that enhances inclusion, respect, and representation.
A wonderful and insightful academic read.
February 21, 2018
This is an excellent topic and this book is so very informative -- very relevant to our times, when the assumption is that the Sunni-Shia divide dictates everything (and is due to inherent religious differences). The chapters each take on a different country and demonstrate that in most cases, the divide comes from political manipulation by people in power--not "baked-in" differences among people. My only reason for not giving this book a higher rating is the excruciatingly bad writing (uber academic in the worse sense) in some of the chapters.
November 27, 2017
this book is an excellent crucial resource for anyone seriously studying the Middle East
April 23, 2020
I want to rate this book higher because it was a wealth of information that I found interesting and thought-provoking, but it was also incredibly dense and the amount of time it took me to get through it has me knocking a few stars off.
Rather than one cohesive work, it's instead essentially a collection of scholarly articles analyzing sectarianism and (more specifically) sectarianization and securitization of minorities in the Middle East. Some chapters were easier to read than others, partially due to the authors' different writing styles, but also because while background knowledge on events and key players isn't necessary to understand the argument, it does help. Personally, I found the chapters on Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait to be the most compelling, but there were plenty of interesting observations and points to be found throughout.
All in all, this book is a fabulous resource for anyone interested in doing further research into sectarian policies and events in the Middle East, but might be better served read piecemeal and/or alongside other books rather than all in one go.
Rather than one cohesive work, it's instead essentially a collection of scholarly articles analyzing sectarianism and (more specifically) sectarianization and securitization of minorities in the Middle East. Some chapters were easier to read than others, partially due to the authors' different writing styles, but also because while background knowledge on events and key players isn't necessary to understand the argument, it does help. Personally, I found the chapters on Iraq, Syria, and Kuwait to be the most compelling, but there were plenty of interesting observations and points to be found throughout.
All in all, this book is a fabulous resource for anyone interested in doing further research into sectarian policies and events in the Middle East, but might be better served read piecemeal and/or alongside other books rather than all in one go.
January 19, 2018
A book that clearly explains how the entrenched authoritarian regimes of the Middle East continue to to use all possible majors at their disposal to remain in control and power without remorse of their consequences.
The most powerful of these tools is that of the sectarian divide; pitting its own nationals against one another. So far this resulted in great results at perilous costs to the people and the development of the nations in the region. The entrenchment of the exiting regimes has served no one else but the ruling elites.
In each of the case studies in the book, not a single country can claim internal stability, socioeconomic development, or innovative productive societies. In reality all can be categorized as failed systems.
It is an excellent reference both to nationals of these countries as well as foreigners who need to understand the truth about the region.
The most powerful of these tools is that of the sectarian divide; pitting its own nationals against one another. So far this resulted in great results at perilous costs to the people and the development of the nations in the region. The entrenchment of the exiting regimes has served no one else but the ruling elites.
In each of the case studies in the book, not a single country can claim internal stability, socioeconomic development, or innovative productive societies. In reality all can be categorized as failed systems.
It is an excellent reference both to nationals of these countries as well as foreigners who need to understand the truth about the region.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews