Since 2011, political developments in Syria have predominantly been assessed from the perspective of identity politics. A new master narrative now claims that Syria, and more broadly the Middle East, is locked into cultural and religious conflicts. This approach reduces the variety of political and strategic developments to explanations based on the immutable essence of ‘sectarian’ strife.This paper contends that identity is but one factor in the unfolding of the Syrian tragedy, and that power politics matter and continue to drive the process of communal, religious and ethnic solidarity. Building on an understanding of sectarianism as a construction of differences, I argue that the shift to sectarian strife was the result of a political process of sectarianization rather than inherent identity clashes. I further argue that the construction and deconstruction of differences took place through the production of knowledge and practices of violence. My research defines notions of identity in the context of Syria; I draw upon new evidence on the Syrian conflict from primary and secondary sources, and interviews carried out with defectors, combatants, activists and refugees. I also explore the contending narratives and practices in the context of the Syrian uprisingand its aftermath. The paper concludes that rather than reflecting an inherent clash or hatred between Sunnis and Shi’as, the new ‘struggle for Syria’ is about the ideological and strategic turn of the revolution, with regional and international power rivalries over definitions of identity built on strategic interests. Syria’s tragic descent into war cannot be understood outside the context of Iraq’s predicament since the US-led war of 2003. The Syrian war was, in turn, exported to neighboring countries. Identity has become an instrument of power and geopolitics; it has also taken on a momentum of its own within the region. Ultimately, the purpose is to provide a theoretically and empirically grounded analysis of post-2011 Syria, and possibly outline recommendations for the future of the country.