Fanar Haddad, Lisel Hintz, Rima Majed, Toby Matthiesen, Bassel F. Salloukh, and Alexandra A. Siegel, The Politics of Identity and Sectarianism In: The Political Science of the Middle East. Edited by: Marc Lynch, Jillian Schwedler, and Sean Yom, Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press 2022. DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197640043.003.0008 8 Te Politics of Identity and Sectarianism Fanar Haddad, Lisel Hintz, Rima Majed, Toby Matthiesen, Bassel F. Salloukh, and Alexandra A. Siegel Te 2011 popular uprisings lef an indelible mark on the politics of identity in the Middle East. Minority-based regimes, such as Bahrain’s Sunni mon- archy and Syria’s Alawi-led republic, weaponized sectarian diferences to crush democratic opposition against their rule. Regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Iran deployed sectarian discourse to mobilize same-sect proxies and intervene in the local politics of shattered states like Syria and Yemen. At this revolutionary juncture, it appeared that sectarian sentiments had come to dominate the regional public sphere, shaping how individuals and groups congregated for political purposes. Yet not a decade later, a far diferent image emerged. In 2019, Lebanese and Iraqis of varying identities mobilized in national protest against political systems organized around sectarian lines. Tey targeted institutionalized corruption, economic deprivation, and polit- ical venality—all of which were produced by confessional politics enshrined within exclusive power-sharing arrangements and neoliberal economic structures. 1 Tese relatively recent moments follow a familiar pattern: political events in the Middle East are ofen tied to sectarian concerns that can appear baf- ling to researchers of comparative politics and international relations. It is high time that scholars tackle this issue in order to bridge the gap between regional knowledge and mainstream political science. Sectarianism here means the politicization of sectarian diferences. 2 Tis topic is integral within the MENA to understanding how social forces engage one another, how state authorities deal with demands from below, how capitalism operates in rela- tion to identity politics, and how regional conficts can take massive turns for the worse. Tis subject also has theoretical importance beyond the region because it forms part of the larger comparative enterprise regarding the politics of identity. Te questions invoked by those studying sectarian-laden events