The Scourge of Sectarianism in the Modern Middle East: A Path Forward through Diplomacy

By: Sam Shapiro

April 19, 2021

Virtual Spring 2021 REWA Student Symposium

Sectarian conflict has long plagued the modern Middle East. Over the past two decades the region has splintered along sectarian lines over a host of political, military, and diplomatic issues. This project studies the roots of that divide, examining how much of it is theologically or politically derived, and how novel a challenge it is. It also examines measures that could be taken to bridge the gap between sectarian rivals, focusing on issues from Israeli and Turkish relations to regional economic cooperation organizations to religious diplomacy.

​Bibliography

Bishara, Azmi. "Ta'ifah, Sect and Sectarianism: From the Word and Its Changing Implications to the Analytical Sociological Term." AlMuntaqa 1, no. 2 (2018): 53–67.

Dale, Stephen F. The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Gengler, Justin. “Sectarianism from the Top Down or Bottom Up? Explaining the Middle East’s Unlikely De-Sectarianization after the Arab Spring.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 18, no. 1 (January 2020): 109–113.

Henley, Alexander D. M. Religious Authority and Sectarianism in Lebanon. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2016).

Khalil, Osman. Sectarianism in Iraq: The Making of State and Nation Since 1920. London: Routledge, 2014.

Pew Research Center. The World’s Muslims: Unity and Diversity. Pew Research Center (2012).

Robinson, Heather M., David E. Thaler, Ben Cannable, and Ali G. Scotten. Sectarianism in the Middle East: Implications for the United States. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2018.

Stewart, Dona J. The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives. New York: Routledge, 2013.

comments powered by Disqus
Opens in a new window