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The Drivers Of Sectarian Violence: A Qualitative Analysis Of Lebanon, Iraq, And Turkey, Catherine R. Antosh

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The issue of sectarian violence is widespread in today’s world of intra-state conflict. Though it appears that religion and ethnicity fuel these civil wars, insurgencies, and terrorist acts, there are in fact many more factors that contribute to sectarian violence. In this article, three case studies of Lebanon, Iraq, and Turkey are examined to determine what causes sectarianism to break into violent conflict in some cases rather than others. Through analysis of four independent variables—disparities, grievances, foreign intervention, and regime strength—it can be determined that the true drivers of sectarian violence are much more complex than simple religious and ethnic …