Sectarian narratives may boost war support—but only if presented without competition

Civilians react differently to civil war explanations. The Syrian conflict has multiple narratives, but grew more communal over time.

In a framing experiment with a representative sample of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, we varied the reasons given for the conflict.

Key Findings:

• Framing the war solely as sectarian strongly increased willingness to fight among those exposed to government propaganda.
• This effect disappeared when presented alongside competing narratives.

Why It Matters:

These results highlight how governments and rebels can strategically use narrative framing. Isolating a divisive angle boosts support, but counter-narratives weaken its impact.