At the beginning of the XXI century crisis of statehood and numerous conflicts in the Middle East have resulted in an increase of identities' politicization. Groups that identify themselves by common ethnic, religious and confessional characteristics and formulate political demands on this basis have become more active and politically pronounced. The use of identities to achieve political goals shows that the existing differences between them are not primary drivers of conflict; they can turn into such drivers only in the process of politicization. Accordingly, attempts to explain the policy of states and non-state actors exclusively through the primordial conflict of identities are unproductive. At the same time, political identity may be used instrumentally by the states in a search for allies and sympathizers. Middle East States give examples of both the "classical" version of ideological and party affiliation, mainly introduced by the West, and the politicization of local identities. The authors use case-studies (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Iran) to estimate their correlation within countries, as well as their impact on respective foreign policies. If in Turkish society political self-identification on an ideological basis prevails, in Syria confessional identities have come to the fore during the conflict. In Lebanon the confessional system still provides the functioning of institutions. In Israel, where religion is the most important element of national identity, there is a symbiosis of secular ideologies and religious discourse. In Iran the revolution has turned Islamic-Shiite identity into a major component of the "official ideology". The use of the identity factor in foreign policy is situational. Emphasis put on religious or confessional identity can be eagerly embraced by some local actors, but can be perceived as anachronistic and as an obstacle to potential cooperation by international players. Nevertheless, forecasting the development of conflict trends in the region is hardly possible without taking into account the impact of political identity.