We are SEPAD High impact, international research from academics and policy makers working in the field

Urban Spaces and Sectarian Contestation Simon Mabon - 28th Feb 2020

Sectarianism in the Longue Duree Simon Mabon - 25th Nov 2019

Saudi and Iran: how our two countries could make peace and bring stability to the Middle Eas Eyad Alrefai - 19th Jun 2019

Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic o...

What We Do

The Sectarianism, Proxies and De-sectarianisation (SEPAD) project based at Lancaster University’s Richardson Institute is a collaborative project aimed at understanding the conditions that give rise to sectarian violence and proxy conflicts.

Sepad Reports

Bahrain: The Epicentre of the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry?

For many, the archipelago of Bahrain is at the epicentre of the geopolitical and sect-based struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Situated 16 kilometres from the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, linked by the King Fahd Causeway, and 768 kilometres...

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Sectarianized Geopolitical Contests and the Rise of Armed Sectarian Nonstate Actors

The rise of armed sectarian nonstate actors (NSAs) is one of the main consequences of the grand Saudi-Iranian contest over regional dominance unleashed in the wake of the 2003 US invasion and occupation of Iraq.¹ Albeit this contest pre...

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Events

BRISMES Call for Papers 29th Jun 2020

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Announcements

Urban Spaces and Sectarian Contestation: Concluding Remarks John Nagle - 8th Mar 2020

Cities are laboratories in which sectarian divisions are dialecti...

Disclosing Reality: Daily Life of Palestinians in Contested East Jerusalem Simon Mabon - 8th Mar 2020

Adel Ruished, Lancaster University

On Tues...

More than a fight for a park: How urban spaces in Bosnia-Herzegovina become arenas for contestation of ethno-nationalist politics Anne Kirstine Rønn - 6th Mar 2020

The loss of urban spaces has sparked several social movements in Eastern...

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From Twitter

ProjectSEPAD

Thanks to everyone who was involved in putting together this fantastic report on IR, Saudi-Iran, geopolitics and sectarianism. Lots of important material to get your teeth into! https://t.co/DhXJ5fFmXz

ProjectSEPAD

We’re doing our bit to try and keep intellectual engagement and the rigorous study of the Middle East going. Stay tuned for what we’ve got planned.

ProjectSEPAD

Here’s the latest episode of #SEPADPod feat @qdepim talking about The Khaleeji Voice. An interesting set of reflections about art across the Gulf. As always at https://t.co/kJFRuVggFd & acast https://t.co/8VaLKma8MK apple https://t.co/e6ZpXzPwuZ Spotify https://t.co/BNARImmsyZ

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SEPAD is supported by the following organisations