Sectarianism in Lebanon and Syria

The Peace Brief, “Sectarianism in Lebanon and Syria,” assesses how Syria’s crisis has influenced Lebanon’s sectarian and political dynamics. It is one of a five-part series about sectarianism in the Middle East.

• When the Arab revolutions reached Syria, the Sunni-Shia cleavage in Lebanon was already well in the making. Syria’s turmoil only added fuel to an existing fire in Lebanon.
• Syria’s crisis is intensifying Sunni-Shia tensions in Lebanon on two levels, symbolic and identity-based on the one hand, and geopolitical or interest based, on the other hand.
• The shift toward identity-based or symbolic forms of sectarianism can probably be explained by the existential character the struggle in the Levant is taking, whereby both “communities,” however imagined or over-constructed, are coming to perceive themselves as defending not only their share of resources or power, but their very survival.
• Lebanon’s minority communities – including Christian and Druze – are increasingly anxious about the changing regional environment.
• Lebanon and Syria must face the difficult equation of sectarian diversity and national unity.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) 2013

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress to increase the nation's capacity to manage international conflict without violence.