Constructing Islamic "Sectarianism" in Saudi Arabia

Author: Madeleine Wells

"The existing scholarship claims that although 1979 was a watershed moment in Middle Eastern history, both President Jimmy Carter and Presient Ronald Reagan continued to operate based on Cold War imperatives in the region. However, in light of the current focus on the sectarian conflict in the Middle East, the reconfiguration of the production of knowledge and policy produced at the time must be studied to determine the extent to which a 'sectarian' view of Islam in the region became an implicit element in American foreign policy."