On Syria and Sectarianism: Josh Landis' and Qifa Nabki's Exchange

I don't even try to link to the vast literature accumulating on the Syrian problem; it's everywhere. But one very interesting exchange has been under way at Elias Muhanna's Qifa Nabki blog, between Josh Landis of Syria Comment and Elias, thus giving us a Syria expert and a Lebanon expert discussing sectarianism, with Nadim Shehadi of Chatham House chiming in, too. The question was whether Syria risked descending into sectarian civil war like Lebanon and Iraq. But I won't try to summarize it. Starting in response to this TV interview with Landis and several others, Elias posted this commentary, which in turn provoked responses from Landis and Shehadi, and then a clarification from Landis. [UPDATE: And another round from Shehadi.] I find it the sort of conversation the blogosphere is very good at generating, at least when the participants are as well-informed as these guys.