A01=Simon Mabon
Author_Simon Mabon
Category=JP
Category=NHG
Category=QRAX
Category=QRP
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Product details
- ISBN 9780300276138
- Dimensions: 152 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 26 May 2026
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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A sophisticated new account of sectarianism in the Middle East
Sectarianism saturates our conversations about the Middle East, its politics and society, and the divide between Sunni and Shi’a captures headlines the world over. But in reality, sectarian difference is far from a uniquely Islamic phenomenon. Throughout the region, religious and communitarian schisms play out in politics, economics and theology, across religions and borders.
But how did these divisions come to be? And who is gaining from them?
Simon Mabon examines sectarianism in the modern Middle East, moving beyond our simplistic conceptions of ancient religious hatreds and violence. Sectarian identities are as much a product of colonial and post-colonial state building as they are of religious belief, and they operate as a means to include and exclude certain groups. Ranging from Iraq and Iran to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Israel, Mabon explores how divisions are produced, regulated and contested over time—and how they have shaped the lives of people across the region.
Sectarianism saturates our conversations about the Middle East, its politics and society, and the divide between Sunni and Shi’a captures headlines the world over. But in reality, sectarian difference is far from a uniquely Islamic phenomenon. Throughout the region, religious and communitarian schisms play out in politics, economics and theology, across religions and borders.
But how did these divisions come to be? And who is gaining from them?
Simon Mabon examines sectarianism in the modern Middle East, moving beyond our simplistic conceptions of ancient religious hatreds and violence. Sectarian identities are as much a product of colonial and post-colonial state building as they are of religious belief, and they operate as a means to include and exclude certain groups. Ranging from Iraq and Iran to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Israel, Mabon explores how divisions are produced, regulated and contested over time—and how they have shaped the lives of people across the region.
Simon Mabon is professor of international politics and director of the Sectarianism, Proxies and De-Sectarianisation project at Lancaster University. He is the author of books including The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East and Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East.
