2003 and the ‘Sectarian Wave’

Abstract

This chapter examines the transformative impact of 2003 on sectarian identity and sectarian relations in the Middle East. The invasion of Iraq triggered what has been called a ‘sectarian wave’ that saw sectarian categories attaining unprecedented political relevance. This chapter sheds light on the processes unleashed by 2003 and the way they altered sectarian relations. Key drivers in the regional transformation of sectarian dynamics include the manner in which 2003 disturbed power relations between sect-centric actors; state collapse, firstly in Iraq and later on in several other countries after 2011; and the sense of regional crisis that followed the ‘Arab Spring’. 2003 was a transformative historical disruption that allowed for the contestation of the relations of power between sect-centric actors and that inflamed the salience of sectarian identity – processes that were accelerated by the simultaneous spread of social media. What emerged was a narrative of regionalized sectarian conflict and competing sectarian victimhoods in which the line between the national and transnational dimensions became increasingly blurred. Using the multidimensional framework introduced in chapters 3-4, this chapter explains the dynamics of these processes and how to contextualize them in the broader history of sectarian identity formation and sectarian relations.