heightened sectarianism in the middle east: causes, dynamics ... - Ispi

More documents

Recommendations

Info

from economic and political rentiers in consolidating their powers 4 .Such conditions helped deepen their authoritarianism, which, incases like Iraq and Syria, bore totalitarian traits.Political exclusion produced new social hierarchies, based on personalloyalty, cronyism and patronage. Tribal, regional and sectarianconsiderations played significant roles in shaping these hierarchies.In Iraq, Syria and Bahrain, sectarian differences convergedwith socio-political stratification and economic disparities, generatingcommunal solidarities among the disadvantaged groups. Communalityrequires narratives and collective symbols that no institutionexcept religion was able to communicate and cultivate.The increasing religiosity which spread all over the Middle Eastwas largely propelled by the failures of state building and developmentapproaches that have been characterized by severe centralization;unplanned or random urbanization; a neglect of agriculturethat was accelerated by growing dependence on oil and the opportunitiesit provided for ruling elites to act independently from their‘societies’. In most Arab countries, these ‘modernization’ approachesresulted in massive migration from rural areas into urban centres. Italso widened the gap between city and countryside 5 .The modern state managed to dismantle traditional relations and structureswithout succeeding in completely replacing them with modernones. As a result, semi-traditional and semi-modern social sectorswere brought into existence. They lived in the insecure conditions ofmobility, uncertainty and cultural perplexity. Some scholars called thistransformation the ‘ruralisation of the city’ 6 to distinguish it from modernization’sclassic objective of the ‘urbanization of rural spaces’. On theone hand, traditional loyalties and patterns were no longer responsiveto the social realities. On the other, the necessary conditions of economic,social and cultural modern patterns only were available to steadilyshrinking social minorities. Today, it is common in large Arab capitalslike Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus to notice an intellectual discourselamenting the disappearance of urban culture and ‘civilized’ manners 7 .The modern state managedto dismantle traditionalrelations and structureswithout succeeding incompletely replacing themwith modern onesSome scholars called thistransformation the‘ruralisation of the city’ todistinguish it frommodernization’s classicobjective of the‘urbanization of ruralspaces’©ISPI20134R. OWEN, State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East,London, Routledge, 1992.5H. BEBLAWI, The Rentier State in the Arab World, in G. LUCIANI (ed.), TheArab State, London, Routledge, 1990, pp. 85-98; United Nation DevelopmentProgram, Arab Human Development Report, 2009. http://www.arab‐hdr.org/publications/other/ahdr/ahdr2009e.pdf; S. AMIN, Maledevelopment:Anatomy of a Global Failure, London, Zed Books Ltd, 1990.6G. SALAMEE, Al-Mujtam'a Wa Al-Dawla Fi Al-Mashriq Al-Arabi (The Societyand State in the Arab East), Beirut, The Centre of Arab Unity Sudies, 2008.7For more details, see H. BARAKAT, The Arab World: Security, Culture and4
©ISPI2013Islam was re-introduced as an identity and political ideologyadaptable to the social contexts of incomplete modernization. It wasredefined through new ideological readings that sought to conciliate –or compromise – between tradition and modernity. The new Islamismis not a return to the past; it is the return of the past to serve the present’sconditions. It is an identity that compensates for the dismantledtraditional structures and, at the same time, provides a worldviewabout the state, the just government and cultural affiliation with morepoliticized societies.With the rise of political Islamism, sectarianism gained more prominenceand it was accompanied by the reconstruction of collective narrativesable to serve today’s conflicts. Sectarianization was the lateststage in the broader process of Islamization. While early versions of thenew Islamism tried to present a trans-sectarian vision, socio cultural,geopolitical and ideological differences gradually reemphasized theSunni-Shi’a schism. This transformation has been triggered bythe rivalry among Islamist groups and institutions to gain constituencysupport, hence encouraging a shift towards identity politics.Accordingly, differences between Sunnism and Shiism in religiousculture, doctrines, intuitions and conceptions of state-society relations,were increasingly underlined.In addition, the growing obsession with identity, which is typical ofspheres where official nationalism is failing to represent all socialsectors, contributed to the emergence of sectarian groups as new socio-culturalconstructs that represent an ‘imaginable community’.Sectarianism managed to revive the notion of ‘community’ in contextswhere the state is either very weak or perceived as the enemy. Thiscommunal identity is open even to those who are not religious or Islamist.For example, the alliance which links the Iranian regime,Hizbullah and the ‘secular’ Syrian regime represents a sectariantransnational identity. Similarly, it is the ‘Sunni’ identity rather thanany ‘Islamic doctrine’ that brought Syrian rebels, Saudi Arabia, Qatarand Turkey together in one camp during the Syrian civil war.When and where the sectarian identity is not the main politicalframe, political and ideological differences become more prominent(as was the case in the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and both Qatarand Turkey in Egypt).Sectarian identity is not an organic state of being; it is a conflictorientednarrative, best suited to conditions of insecurity and instability.It still possesses a negative connotation in the region andis usually used to discredit opponents. With the exception of radi-State. California, University of California Press, 1993.The new Islamism is not areturn to the past; it is thereturn of the past to servethe present’s conditions. Itis an identity thatcompensates for thedismantled traditionalstructures and, at the sametime, provides a worldviewabout the state, the justgovernment and culturalaffiliation with morepoliticized societiesSectarian identity is not anorganic state of being; it isa con‐flict‐orientednarrative, best suited toconditions of insecurityand instability. It stillpossesses a negativeconnotation in the regionand is usually used todiscredit opponents. Withthe exception of radicalgroups, it is hard to find a‘mainstream’ party whichpublicly emphasizes itssectarian identity5
Page 1 and 2: Analysis No. 205, November 2013HEIG
Page 3: Socio-Cultural Dynamics of Sectaria
Page 7 and 8: ©ISPI2013by the ‘Sunni’ majori
Page 9 and 10: ©ISPI2013external interventions an

heightened sectarianism in the middle east: causes, dynamics ... - Ispi

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?