Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy. Danny Postel is Assistant Director of the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University and the former Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Reading 'Legitimation Crisis' in Tehran and co-editor of The Syria Dilemma and The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran's Future.

'Why has sectarianism become such an urgent, destructive force in today's Middle East? This collection brings together a diverse group of scholars to advance a distinctively political explanation for the rise of sectarian conflict across the region. Rather than resort to essentialised identities, these essays expertly dissect the historical, political and instititutional contexts within which cynical political and social actors have mobilised sectarianism for their own ends. Every student of Middle East politics will benefit from reading and thinking hard about the implications of this collection.'

Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy. Danny Postel is Assistant Director of the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University and the former Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Reading 'Legitimation Crisis' in Tehran and co-editor of The Syria Dilemma and The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran's Future.

'Why has sectarianism become such an urgent, destructive force in today's Middle East? This collection brings together a diverse group of scholars to advance a distinctively political explanation for the rise of sectarian conflict across the region. Rather than resort to essentialised identities, these essays expertly dissect the historical, political and instititutional contexts within which cynical political and social actors have mobilised sectarianism for their own ends. Every student of Middle East politics will benefit from reading and thinking hard about the implications of this collection.'

Nader Hashemi is the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies and an Associate Professor of Middle East and Islamic Politics at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Islam, Secularism and Liberal Democracy. Danny Postel is Assistant Director of the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University and the former Associate Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He is the author of Reading 'Legitimation Crisis' in Tehran and co-editor of The Syria Dilemma and The People Reloaded: The Green Movement and the Struggle for Iran's Future.

'Why has sectarianism become such an urgent, destructive force in today's Middle East? This collection brings together a diverse group of scholars to advance a distinctively political explanation for the rise of sectarian conflict across the region. Rather than resort to essentialised identities, these essays expertly dissect the historical, political and instititutional contexts within which cynical political and social actors have mobilised sectarianism for their own ends. Every student of Middle East politics will benefit from reading and thinking hard about the implications of this collection.'