Multiple factors drive the complex Mideast conflicts

Sectarianism in the Middle East — this month’s Minnesota International Center’s “Great Decisions” dialogue topic — manifests itself in multiple conflicts. The latest epicenter is Yemen, often portrayed as a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Shiite and Sunni regional behemoths.

But it’s more complex than that, and analysts — including and especially the news media — risk reducing complicated conflicts to singular factors. “We tend to oversimplify, and in the case of sectarianism we see that happening in a few ways,” said David Rothkopf, editor of Foreign Policy magazine. Rothkopf is quick to concur that “traditional sectarianism” is a key conflict component. “But it’s never the only factor. There are people involved, tribes involved, politicians and political parties involved, special interests involved. All of whom want to see outcomes that ensure that not just their religious goals are achieved but that their personal goals are achieved, their nationalistic goals are achieved.” And the Sunni-Shia split is accompanied by a Sunni-Sunni divide between extremists and moderate states, some with “troubling profiles as partners.”