Playing the sectarian card in a sectarianized new Middle East

Abstract

This article examines the interaction between authoritarianism and the instrumentalization of sectarianism in the Middle East. It begins with an overview of debates on authoritarianism in the region and how they has been affected by the Arab uprisings and by the subsequent debates about the sectarian surge in the region. A comparative case study of Bahrain and Kuwait exposes the considerable variation in how rulers do this. Second, it explores the impact of such insttrumentalization on the inclusiveness of institutions over time, using a case study of Ba’thist Syria.