Sectarianism, De-Sectarianization and Regional Politics in the Middle East : Protest and Proxies across States and Borders

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