Book Review: The Sectarianization of the Middle East Explained
Against essentialist narratives of perpetual sectarianism, the process of sectarianization is contingent on class dynamics, fragile states, geopolitical rivalries, and modern authoritarianism.
by Usman Butt
According to the neo-Orientalist perspective that has become the standard explanation for events in the Middle East, the region has been embroiled in a ruinous conflict that re-emerged in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and expanded in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings, but actually dates back 1,400 years.
In his 2016 State of t…
