The Politics of Sectarianism and Its Reflection in Questions of International Law and State Formation in the Middle East

As the relationships between communities (majority and minority) within states in the Middle East are recalibrated and competition for access to political and economic decision-making institutions intensifies, this chapter focuses on how identity politics are constructed in the Middle East. It provides a general overview of the historical social formation of regional identities, and explores the politicisation of identity and growth of sectarianism in the region. The chapter concludes by reflecting on how entrepreneurial sectarianism has taken root in Iraq exacerbated by tensions related to the transition, changing the identity landscape and threatening the physical boundaries in the region, and generating newer antagonisms that mapped onto external and internal political ambition.

Aesthetics · Competition (biology) · Development economics · Economics · Geography · Identity (music) · Middle East · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sectarianism · Sociology · State (computer science) · Gender Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts