Sectarianism de-sectarianism and regional politics in the Middle East

"Following the Arab Uprisings, new ways of understanding sectarianism and sect-based differences emerged. But these perspectives, while useful, reduced sectarian identities to a consequence of either primordial tensions or instrumentalised identities. While more recently 'third way' approaches addressed the problems with these two positions, the complexity of secatarian identities within and across states remains unexplored. This book fills the gap in the literature to offer a more nuanced reading of both sectarian identities and also de-sectarianization across the Middle East. To do so, the volume provides a comparative account, looking at Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. It examines the ways in which sect-based difference shapes regional politics and vice versa. The book also contributes to burgeoning debates on the role of protest movements in sectarianism. Chapters are split across three main sections: the first looks at sects and states; the second traces the relationship between sects and regional dynamics; and the third examines de-sectarianization, that is, the contestation and destablization of sectarian identities in socio-political life Each section provides a more holistic understanding of the role of sectarian identities in the contemporary Middle East and shows how sectarian groups operate within and across state borders, and why this has serious implications for the ordering of life across the Middle East."-- Provided by publisher Cover Half Title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Note on contributors Introduction Part I Politics of Sectarianism Chapter 1 The Iraqi protests: Sliding into the abyss? (Jinan S. Al-Habbal) Chapter 2 Taif at thirty: October 17 as thawra .ala al-.istishraq (Madonna Kalousian) Chapter 3 Carl Schmitt’s ineffectual exceptionalism in the case of Syria (Samuel Peter Mace) Part II Regional Dynamics and Proxies Chapter 4 The deal of discontent: Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the nuclear deal (Olivia Glombitza) Chapter 5 Securitization of Shi’a to ‘violization’: A response to the Arab Spring in Bahrain (Samira Nasirzadeh) Chapter 6 Bridging ethno-religious divides by proxy? Non-state sponsorship and sectarianism in the case of the Syrian Democrati Chapter 7 Saudi Arabia’s rhetorical construction of the Houthis as an Iranian proxy (Maria-Louise Clausen) Chapter 8 Sectarianism and civil wars in the MENA region (Francesco Belcastro) Part III De-Sectarianization Chapter 9 Iran’s soft power in the Gulf from the Islamic revolution to post–Intra-Gulf crisis and prospects for de-sectarianiza Chapter 10 Political and discursive de-sectarianization: Re-ordering Saudi foreign and domestic policy-making (Umer Karim) Chapter 11 Institutional faith-based diplomacy and de-sectarianization in the Middle East: How to understand the role of Al-Azh Conclusion (Samira Nasirzadeh, Elias Ghazal and Eyad Alrefai) Index