Middle East Security: Conflict and securitization of identities

This chapter explores the mechanisms and ways in which state and non-state actors seek to shape the regional balance of power in the Middle East, especially after the 2011 uprisings. It sheds light on the ‘securitization of identities’ and the production of security discourses through which rival regimes deliberately instigate hostility and conflicts, which are often accompanied by high levels of transnational social and political mobilization, a proxy to direct military confrontation. The chapter proposes a fresh understanding of the construction of ‘identities’ and their role in international politics, moving beyond essential understandings of sectarianism. Instead, it treats the manipulation of sectarianism and other ideological tools of mobilization as sophisticated ways of balancing and/or expanding power. Three main trends are taken into account: the long-standing rivalry between monarchies and republics; the opposition between Sunnis and Shīa; and the intra-Sunni rift. In considering the impact of both state and non-state actors on Middle East security, the chapter reveals how the distinction between these two types of actors is often blurred, especially when they cooperate or compete in the traditionally domaine réservé of states.