From the Iranian Corridor to the Shia Crescent

A Hoover , Fabrice Balanche (1)

1 EVS - Environnement, Ville, Société

Tehran’s long-term strategy to fortify the Iranian Corridor as a Shiite Crescent requires demographic reengineering. Iran and its allies must be able to rely on a loyal population because of the solidarity it provides at the sectarian level. The attempt to reduce the Sunni numerical advantage is real, but it has had limited results. Even, if viewing the Levant as largely Sunni dominated is a mistake, it seems difficult for Iran to reverse the demographic balance. In contrast, the strategy of promoting internal division among the Sunni promises to be more effective.

Mots clés: Demography; Near Eastern Studies; Geopolitics; Iranian Studies; Kurdish Studies; Lebanon; Iraq; Syria; Political Geography; Ethnic Cleansing; Levant; Shia studies; Sunni and shia; Syrian Civil War; Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Géographie; Démographie; Architecture, aménagement de l'espace

A Hoover, Fabrice Balanche. From the Iranian Corridor to the Shia Crescent: Demography and Geopolitics. 2021. ⟨halshs-03175780⟩