In his book In the Shadow of Sectarianism: Law, Shi’ism, and the Making of Modern Lebanon, historian Max Weiss argues that “states, societies, institutions, and communities become sectarian in unique ways, by diverse means, through processes that must be historically contextualized” (Weiss, 16). This paper looks at these processes in the Iraqi context, from 2003 to 2014, arguing that the “sectarianization” of society that took place was not an inevitable outcome of Iraq’s recent past, but rather actively produced. The paper analyzes four processes in the construction of this “sectarian-authoritarian” state: political, economic, regional, and symbolic factors. First, an examination of political decisions and events between 2003 and 2014 demonstrates the ways in which the US-led invasion, the US-run Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the later Iraqi governments have had an impact on social cohesion, nationalist discourse, and Iraqi identity, leading to the rise of identity politics and insecurity. Second, an analysis of economic factors shows how the social contract between the state and a category of its citizens has been further broken, leading to the strengthening of tribal groups and allegiance, where the state was too weak to provide. Unemployment rates and socio-economic differential between Sunnis and Shi’a has left many Sunnis with a bitter feeling of exclusion from the state and deep resentment. Third, the regional proxy-war led by Iran on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia along with the Gulf monarchies on the other, has left Iraqis more divided than before. The war in Syria is another regional factor that has shaped new narratives and discourses within both government and social groups in Iraq. Fourth, the rise of social media in Iraq since 2003, with the advent of Facebook in 2003, YouTube in 2005 and Twitter in 2006, has reinforced sectarian discourses. These social platforms connected people within the country, but also outside; staunchly Sunni forums created in Saudi Arabia but also pro-Shi’a sectarian platforms have been feeding polarization and resentment among the groups, building upon grievances, old and new. The paper demonstrates that the rise of sectarianism in Iraq is a complex phenomenon, one which deserves a multi-faceted analysis. To undo the sectarianization of society would require a complex set of institutional, social, and regional transformations. In the past decade however, political maneuvers by the Iraqi elites and geostrategic machinations by its regional neighbors have demonstrated that this option remains meager.