..., success in the midst of a vicious sectarian civil war. Syrian Civil War Turkey ISIS PYD Assad Obama Doctrine PKK Copyright 2017 by Mediterranean Affairs, Inc. 2017 Spyridon Plakoudas is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Macedonia. He previously taught at Panteion...

...Mohamed A. El-Khawas The essay examines Bush's strategies to democratize Iraq. Failure to draft a plan for Iraq's stabilization led to costly mistakes that drove many Sunnis to join insurgent groups, fueling sectarian strife. Holding multiparty elections was a major accomplishment, but it did...

...Paul R. Pillar The revolts known collectively as the Arab Spring are largely reactions of alienated populations to the closed economic and political systems that prevail in the Middle East. Revolutions in individual countries have differed because of the differing status of the military, sectarian...

... is associate professor of security studies at Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas. Copyright 2015 by Mediterranean Affairs, Inc. 2015 jihad takfir sectarianism caliphate Islamism Zarqawi’s Legacy: Al Qaeda’s ISIS “Renegade” Anthony N. Celso Al Qaeda in Iraq’s (AQI’s) rebirth...

... conquest of Aleppo, the Islamist defeat in today's war is far from certain, although the current jihadist insurgency has stalled. jihadism sectarianism Arab Spring Syrian Civil War Assad Muslim Brotherhood Aleppo Copyright 2017 by Mediterranean Affairs, Inc. 2017 Anthony N. Celso...

... is dominated by Sun- nis, and in particular by the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a staunchly Islamist faction.1 The bitter sectarian divisions in Syria make the situation especially vola- tile. Alawites make up some 140,000 of the approximately 200,000 career soldiers in Assad’s military...

... East, placing the Sunni-­ Shiite split at the forefront of regional issues while decreasing the importance of traditional problems such as the Palestine-­Israel conflict. For Hezbollah, this entailed engagement in a sectarian conflict outside Lebanese territory. At the beginning...

... quarrels with Anbar Province’s Sunni sheiks engendered the wrath of al Qaeda leader Ayman al-­ Zawahiri. In his famous 2005 letter to Zarqawi, Zawahiri rebukes the AQI leader for his sectarian agenda and his killing of Muslim civilians that the Egyptian pre- 8. Chris Dishman, “The Leaderless Nexus...

.... Considerable change has occurred in the United States, particularly in recent years, as far as religious sectarianism in public life is concerned, including some rewriting of American history. Politicians today, especially on the Right, freely introduce religion into public discourse and even...

... into protracted and bloody conflicts, in the case of Syria with no end in sight as of this writing in spring 2014. Iraq after 2003 began to replace Tahrir Square as the model for regime change as militia and sectarian warfare erupted in various countries, a US ambassador and three colleagues were murdered...

... by police. In Lebanon, hundreds of people staged a rally on a cold and rainy 27 Feb- ruary, demanding an end to Lebanon’s sectarian political system. A decades- ­old power-­sharing system requires Lebanon to have a Maronite Christian president, a Sunni prime minister, and a Shiite parliament speaker...

... policy moves, disaster for Iraqis and Lebanese as well as for US interests seems to follow. Both Iraq and Lebanon have quickly become exercises in damage control for US policy in the Middle East. II The older system of sectarian politics in Lebanon, under both...

... like Mubarak. The Arab Spring that drew its strength from its universalist aspirations rather than narrow sectarian and nationalistic impulses was supported by the United States with its own long-­standing human rights policies, but American security policy in the Middle East was based...

... that such a con- flict could further destabilize the region and could threaten Turkish national security and interests. Turkey does not want another regional crisis that may trigger sectarian conflict, inflict huge humanitarian loss for Iran and the sur- rounding areas, and create general economic hardship...

.... Lebanon’s deeply rooted sectarian divide suggests that the country’s Christians, Sunnis, and Druze generally oppose Shiite-based Hezbollah for religious and historical differences. The 2006 war with Israel was also instrumental in turning much of non-Shiite Lebanese public opinion against Hezbollah...

.... Iraq, on the other hand, was invaded by the aggressor United States. It was a place where sectarian and ethnic con- flicts were waiting to erupt as soon as the brutal grip of Saddam’s regime was removed. Finally — and this is probably the most important difference between the US insertion...

..., with consideration given to both economic and political factors such as mutual interdependency and soft power.27 The criteria on which it draws the region’s borders come from the Ottoman past religious and sectarian com- monality, with ethnocultural kinship. For example, while in the Middle East...

... by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI)/Shahid Mihrab List.19 The success of al-­Maliki in garnering sufficient votes is largely attributed to his strategy of co-­opting support for the southern-­based Shiite parties by pro- moting his nationalist and cross-­sectarian credentials, and through reliance...

... that the deal has helped postpone the emergence of a nuclear- armed Iran. Iran’s nuclear program is not the only concern about the Iranian role in the region. Both Israel and Turkey have expressed concerns about Iran’s efforts to expand its regional influence and fuel sectarian conflict in the Middle...

... in the Middle East are linked to Nasser’s Arab national- ist advocacy and agitation. Lebanese sectarian and political alliances still reflect the tensions and conflicts of that era, and the violation of the Lebanese National Pact (according to which Muslims and Christian...