Arab Nationalism, A Case Study of Ba'ath Party in Iraq

Abstract: There is no denying the fact that the Arab nationalism once was on its zenith during the mid 20th century, but it gradually began to fade away onwards and till 1990’s, Arab nationalism had been replaced with the ethno-cultural or sectarian nationalism. True that the Ba’ath party had envisaged pioneering Arab nationalism when it laid the foundations of its movement in Syria and Iraq, it soon turned into an interest oriented party promoting the interests of Abd al Karim Qasimi and later on Saddam Hussein in Iraq and of Assad family in Syria. The internal and external policy maneuvers of these leaders at the platform of the given party in their respective countries left severe implications on Arab nationalism as a whole most of which being political and security related in nature. This article endeavors to explain the political as well as the security implications for the entire Middle East from the prism of the policies of the Baath party’s of Syria and Iraq