Sectarian Non-Entrepreneurs: The Experience of Everyday Sectarianism in Bahrain and Kuwait

In light of the increasing relevance of sectarianism in recent years, not least in the wake of the Arab revolts since 2011, this article investigates ‘everyday sectarianism’ in Kuwait and Bahrain. It employs the notion of sectarian non-entrepreneurs to address and study how ordinary people live, understand and reproduce sectarian dichotomies, imaginaries and narratives in their everyday lives. The article thereby challenges and broadens a more conventional idea of sectarian entrepreneurs that places key community leaders as the central agents in producing sectarianism. By engaging with people’s everyday experiences, it shows the relevance of the ‘everyday’ as a theoretical concept apt to investigate political and cultural dynamics in the Middle East.