Introduction: Sectarianism and Anti-Sectarianism in Northern Ireland

Sectarianism is a notoriously difficult concept to define. This introductory chapter suggests that it can usefully be thought of as dialectically opposed to a non-foundational idea of equality. That is to say, focusing on sectarianism as a verb emphasizes how it categorizes and demarcates people according to pre-ordained characteristics. The chapter outlines how this type of thinking is reproduced in Northern Ireland and establishes the context of the book—the landscape a quarter of a century after the 1998 peace agreement.