Short-listed for the prestigious Andre Simon award in England, it has garnered rave reviews from both sides of the Atlantic.

    This period witnessed the most severe outbreak of sectarian violence in the history of Ottoman Syria and Lebanon. The author's close analytical narrative of the dramatic events of that year is set against the broader themes of nineteenth-century social, political, and economic change.Fawaz shows how social conflict, including "ethnic" civil wars, cannot be explained without analyzing the regional and international currents that play upon both central state power and local autonomy. She also demonstrates the important role of the communal balance between social and political institutions within regions.Fawaz's new insights into the formation of sectarian identities and conflict will make An Occasion for War essential reading for all students of the modern Middle East.