History of the Ba’th Party in Iraq and Syria
In the recent months much attention has been put on the Middle East. In particular the focus has been on Iraq, and its Ba’th Socialist regime. The Ba’th Arab Socialist Party has been given much attention recently as well. The Ba’th Party is a large party that is located throughout the Arab world, though the primary points of control are within Iraq and Syria. The name of the Ba’th party is known throughout the world, but little is actually known about its working and history in modern popular culture. Since it conception in 1944, the Ba’th party has become one of the most powerful and influential political parties in the Middle East. Despite the West’s dislike of the Ba’th Party and the recent destruction of the party in Iraq, the principles and goals behind the party will not go quietly into the night.
Origins of Ba’thism in Middle East and Syria
The Ba’th party originated in Syria and is known as the birthplace of modern Arab Nationalism. As mentioned above, three French educated Syrians founded the Ba’th Arab Socialist Party in 1944, inside of Damascus. The names of the individuals who founded the Ba’th Party are Michel Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq, Salah al-Din, and Zaki al-Arsuzi . After finishing their education, the three men returned to Damascus and were unhappy with the fact that Syria was under French mandate. In response to mandate this they started a national liberation movement. After the French mandate ended in Syria, in 1946, the movement came to be against the “old” Syrian leadership who was seen as inadequate . The first real opportunity of the Ba’th Party to expand came after World War II, with the defeat of the Arab armies against Israel in the war for Palestinian liberation, in 1947 and 1948. The “old” leadership in Syria was seen as the reason for these embarrassing losses to the Israelis. By 1953, two of the founders, Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq and al-Arsuzi left the Ba’th leadership in Syria to join the Arab Socialist Party led by Akram Hawrani . With the post war political landscape in Syria changing, it gave way to a new rise of Arab nationalism. The people began to identify with the Pan-Arab message of the Ba’th Party. In 1954, sixteen Ba’th Party members were elected to the Syrian Parliament . Shortly after that time, Ba’th Party members were elected to the parliaments in both Iraq and Jordan. In 1956, Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq brokered a deal with Egypt for Syria to join in creating a Pan-Arab republic. With this deal came the stipulation that the Ba’th Party in Syria must dissolve itself . The United Arab Republic was created in 1958 and contained both Egypt and Syria. Egypt was a larger and more powerful country and began to exploit Syria. This began to cause great antagonism between the Syrians and Egyptians. This exploitation caused a revival in the Ba’th Party, but there were factions within the newly revived party . There were a great number of Ba’th Party members who were very unhappy with the way the United Arab Republic was being governed. On the other hand, there was a great number who supported having the United Arab Republic and thought it was the realization of the Ba’thist dream of a Pan-Arab state.
The faction which was dissatisfied with the unification of the two countries, was very unhappy with the leadership of Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq and Bitar. They were unhappy for two reasons. First the factions believed they surrendered too much power to Egypt. The second was that, Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq and Bitar allowed the dissolution of the Ba’th Party . The leadership had submitted to Egypt and gave them everything they wanted politically. Syria surrendered their leadership and gave up their powerful political party, and national sovereignty in order to attempt to realize the idea of a Pan-Arab state. This was not a land locking state.
By 1963, the factions were beginning to gain power within Syria, and one of the factions seized power within the country. After gaining power, there were two intra-Ba’th coups. There were different Ba’thist groups were jockeying for power in the country, at this time. These two coups were in 1966, and in 1970. After the coup in 1966, the leaders saw themselves as the new guard of the Ba’th Party and renounce the leadership of both Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq and Bitar . Finally in 1970, Haffiz al-Assad gained power of the country. He remained in power until his death in 2000 . His son Bashir al-Assad became president shortly after that, and has been in control of the country since .
The Spread of Ba’thism into Iraq
Shortly after the birth of the Ba’th Party in Syria, the ideas of Ba’th bled into Iraq. The momentum of the party was much slower to pick up, in Iraq than it was in Syria. It started in 1949 when a few Syrian teachers started teaching the principles of Ba’thism to people in Iraq. By 1951, there were approximately fifty people in the Ba’th party when Fu’ad al-Rikabi took control of the organization . The core of the group was primarily the family and friends of al-Rikabi. As the years went on the party began to pick up small numbers of people. In 1955 there were two hundred eighty nine members of the party according to Iraqi police records . In 1957, al-Rikabi took the Ba’th into the National Front, an opposition group to the established government in Iraq. The National Front consisted of the Ba’th Party, Communist Party, the National Democratic Party, and the Istiqlal Party . The National Democratic Party along with other groups in Iraq supported the Revolution of 1958. After the revolution, the newfound political freedom is believed to have caused an influx of people into the Ba’th Party. According to al-Rikabi, the Ba’th Party consisted of “300 active members, 1,200 organized helpers, 2,000 organized supporters, and 10,000 unorganized supporters”, in 1958 .
After the Revolution of 1958, Iraq was very chaotic and was very unstable politically. There were different groups and parties trying to gain control of the country. Two of the leading competitors were the Communists and the Ba’thists. The main difference between these two groups was the wahda, or Arab unity . The Ba’thists were in strong support of the wahda. Because of this, a group of Ba’thists attempted an assassination against the Communist leader Qasim. This attempted assassination was a failure and lead to the arrest of much of the Ba’th leadership, and led to a disruption of the growth of the party .
Even though the leadership was disrupted in Iraq, the Ba’th movement was far from dead in Iraq. A new leader emerged by the name of Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ali Salih al-Sa’di, who started to reorganized the party in 1961, with the blessing of the Syrian Ba’th founder Michel Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Aflaq . At this time though there were many different Ba’thist factions within Iraq. The party was a very heterogeneous party, and was not very reliable for committing political acts in concert or to agree on all issues .
The party was able to clamp down on most governmental positions. Although in places where there was any type of democratic process, the Ba’th almost always lost to the Communists in the elections . It was not because their ideas were not popular but that the people did not see Arab nationalism as the most important thing for their government to push for. Because of the failure to gain power in organization such as labor and professional unions, the Ba’th executed many coup d’Ã?©tats to gain power in these smaller, quasi-governmental groups .
Founding Beliefs of the Ba’th Party
After analyzing the history of the organization in both Iraq and Syria, where the Ba’th has held the most power one can begin to look at the political ideologies that motivated and gave the power legitimacy in the region. While the Ba’th party is known as a socialist party it is not socialist in the traditional sense. The philosophy of the organization dictates that the type of socialism that it promotes is much different that that of Marxism. The Ba’thists stress the “national-ethnic identity” as opposed to the antagonism between the different social classes . Therefore after all the countries of the Pan-Arab nation unites the need for governmental entities ceases to exist.
Another important characteristic of Ba’thism it is an anti-imperial nationalist movement . This means that the party does not wish to conquer the world, but rather maintain and enrich its national identity. The contradiction with this is that the Ba’thists wish for all the Arab states to unite for one large pan-Arab state. In order for this to be accomplished, one of the countries, either Iraq or Syria must seize control of the rest of the Arab countries.
There are two other important philosophies that belong to the Ba’thists. This ideology while not Marxists in origin, it does have some socialist characteristics. It states, “The economic wealth of the fatherland belongs to the nation” . The Ba’thists believe that the wealth of a nation should stay in that nation. For instance, they would not approve of European or American companies investing in stores, restaurants, factories, and oil production. Thus taking the money they earn back to their respective countries. This philosophy is contrary to the contemporary ideology of globalization. The only feasible explanation for the economic success of both Iraq and Syria is the fact that they have a resource that every country on the planet wants and need, oil.
The Ba’thists also believe in two natural rights, these include the right to property and inheritance . These rights are presumably interpreted to mean as the right to own land, and the right to give the land to your children once you die. The only stipulation to these rights is that they are only protected within the limits of the national interest. Therefore if the state needs your land for some vital interest for the sake of national security or for a particular resource, which is needed, they could suspend the right for the sake of the national interest.
The most important message that is necessary to understand about the Ba’thists is the idea of Pan-Arab unity. Ba’thism dictates that the pan-Arab nation is the most important concept politically . Ba’thism is a secular ideology. This is a popular, yet unpracticed concept in the other countries Middle East. All the Arabs in the Middle East regardless of religion, sex, or age, identify with and have a genuine concern about the well being of all Arabs. You can see this in the participation of many countries in the different Arab/Israeli wars. For instance, when in the “Six Day War”, Egypt, Syria and Jordan all attacked Israel in order to try to destroy Israel and try to liberate the Palestinian people. This idea is very popular among the Arabs because it transcends religion, economic and political background and sets out to accomplish what the Arab see as important goals to be accomplished. Some of the goals include liberating the Palestinians, acquisition of the Golan Heights and the acquisition of parts of Lebanon and Jordan. These are very popular goals with the Arabs and work for the good of the Arab people.
Modern Ba’th Activity
The Ba’th party has been a very active political party in both Iraq and Syria. They both have had Ba’th leadership for decades now, and they have been very successful at maintaining power. They both are active internationally. Every Arab nation is a member of the League of the Arab Fatherland . This is an international body, which pushes issues for the interest of the entire Arab world. The Arab League is a relatively powerful international body. It is an attempt by the Arab world to have a united voice to the international community. The Arab League also has a representative on the United Nations Security Counsel, through the Arab rotating member of the counsel.
Iraq and Syria both are members of the United Nations. Though they are not permanent members of the Security Counsel they have the possibility of being on the Security Counsel as a rotating members. In the United Nations, Iraq is not taken too seriously because of its past troubles with the international community and its defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions. Syria on the other hand has not had the troubles Iraq has with the international community but is not a very powerful player in the United Nations because of its lack of veto power. Both Syria and Iraq have been chastised many times by the international community for they horrible human rights records . There lack of regard for human rights has been a main means of maintaining control of their countries .
They have both at some point been involved in the international crisis between the Arabs and the Israelis and have at some point attacked Israel in and attempt to destroy it, though in every attempt to date they have failed. Syria was involved in the early wars, such as Israel’s war for independence, in 1947 and the Six Day War. In the first Gulf War, Syria actually was part of the coalition against Iraq. This shows the historical rift between the two countries’ parties . Recently though the Syrians have been key players in the Arab/Palestinians peace process.
Leaders of the modern Ba’th Party
The Ba’th Party is commonly recognized by the names in the leadership of the countries. Because of their roles internationally, and their means of gaining and maintaining power in their countries, the leaders of the Ba’th Party in Iraq and Syria are very well known throughout the world. The rulers of these countries have kept power for the past several decades by the means of repression and purges of the people who are opposed to the governments. These rulers have at times been ruthless in their pursuit of power.
In Iraq, the leader was the well-known Saddam Hussein. Up until April 2003, Hussein was the President of Iraq as well as the leader of the Ba’th Party in Iraq. Saddam was one of the most recognizable leaders in the world. He acquired power and maintained it through tyranny . He gave the Ba’th Party the reputation of being a group of repressive people and murderers. It is undeniable that he had killed thousands of people, in order to maintain power and squelch any uprisings.
Hussein acquired power through many coups and the murder of his opposition . Hussein gained power in 1979. He led Iraq from 1979 until April 2003. He and his government were not revered in the Middle East. He was involved in several conflicts. These conflicts include the Iran-Iraq War, the first Persian Gulf War, and the second, most recent, Persian Gulf War. He was not very successful militarily. He was able to maintain power despite these military shortcomings.
Hussein was a very important leader because of many reasons. He was in control of a country that has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. The reserves are estimated at approximately one hundred billion barrels . His control of this resource did not sit very well with the West, since their economies rely heavily on the oil that comes from Iraq. If because of animosity, he were to turn off the taps, it would negatively affect the economies of these countries.
Another important factor about Hussein was that he was in command of one of the biggest militaries in the world. Before the first Persian Gulf War, the Iraqi military was very big and had many military resources available to them . After the first Gulf War, the military was damage, but it was still a pretty respectable military. He showed he was not afraid to use his military, even in the face of superior technology, as in the first Persian Gulf War.
Saddam Hussein was a very effective leader in Iraq. He maintained power for approximately twenty-five years. He was able to withstand defeat militarily, and withstood international economic pressure, such as trade embargos. If the United States and its allies would not have invaded Iraq, it is possible to believe he would have led Iraq until the day he died (naturally).
In June 2000, there was a leadership change in Syria when Haffiz al-Assad died and his son, Dr. Bashar al-Assad came to power . Haffiz al-Assad was a very calculating and some would say and effective leader of Syria. He was a stable leader and was very consistent in his decisions. He maintained power fear as well as consistency.
When his son, Dr. Bashar al-Assad, came to power there were many questions about his ability to seize power and effectively lead Syria. He was relatively effective, and tried to maintain the policies of his father while he got used to his new position. Though he was a new leader, he still has a lot of the same people working with him that worked with his father. He has been able to maintain power and retain legitimacy internationally, thus far. He has made some very big miscalculation, for instance with the recent conflict with Iraq he has allegedly given safe haven to some of the fallen Iraqi Ba’thist regime. After making this mistake and being called out by the United States he has since been more cooperative and has denounced giving haven to people associated with Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi Ba’th Party.
A big problem with his leadership is that, since Syria is not a monarchy the legitimacy of power does not automatically pass from father to son . Thus, many people do not believe that Bashar is the rightful leader of Syria. There are many people who are within the military ranks, and other agencies that believe they have a claim to power. It is necessary for Bashar to consolidate power in the country in order to create stability and legitimacy.
There are two things though that Bashar has one his side; first, he is familiar with the west . He is an educated man who knows how the United States and Europe work. Second he is a man who can bridge the gap between the new and old guard in Syria . He has known and worked with the older leadership; because of the fact his father was the old leader. He is a younger individual who can work for the younger leaders and he identifies with them. It is possible that this younger leader maybe able to unite the younger Arab generations, and make work for peaceful solutions to their problems. It is also possible that he will only stir the pot so to speak and cause more problems in the region .
Future of Ba’thism in the Middle East
Ba’thism may be out of its heyday, but Ba’thism is far from extinction. In April 2003, the Ba’th Party was dealt a critical blow when the United States ripped the party from power, in Iraq. There has been talk within the United States that the Ba’thist government needs to be removed from power in Syria as well. This seems does not seem likely at the present time, because of the quasi-cooperation of the Syrian government.
There are several themes that are core to Ba’thism that will last longer than the Ba’th ever will. The success of the party can be attributed in large part to these core beliefs. These philosophical beliefs were mentioned before and include: Pan-Arab identity, social/economic policy, and having a secular government. These ideas are care and are held highly to a lot of people in the Arab states.
The Ba’th Party in Iraq has all but been destroyed at the leadership level. This is not the first time the Ba’th Party has been disrupted, so its possible a dynamic leader could come forth and seize power with mass public support. The people can identify with the agenda, and in many cases having this party in power provides economic and social stability.
In Syria, the Ba’thists still have control of the government. Since Syria is the area where Ba’thism was born, Syria has a special bond to the ideology. Syria is a big player in the Middle East. As long as it is Ba’thist, there will be a means for Ba’thism to be spread throughout the region. Because the birthplace of the ideology is in Syria, it may take generations for it to be removed from society.
The international community, led by the United States may push for the removal of the Ba’th Party in the Middle East. It is also highly probable that the United States and Britain will crush any popular attempt to establish a new Ba’thist government in Iraq. The West’s main interest in the party is its seemingly anti-Western stance and its control of oil resources. It seems as if the West will in the future leave the Ba’thists of Syria alone as long as they do not defy the West or otherwise propagate hate in the Middle East.
Hopefully Syria and the New Iraqi government will play a role in peacefully resolving the conflict between the Israelis, Palestinians, and the other Arab nations. It is very possible that they could play a key role in a peaceful and fair resolution to the problems in the region.
Conclusion
While the future of Ba’thism may be uncertain, as with any other political ideology, the impact of Ba’thism will be felt for many years to come. Ba’thism has been a force that has helped shape the Middle East for the past half century. It is evident the ideological effects of Ba’thism will be felt for a long time. Dr. Bashir al-Assad has the job of perpetuating the ideology, and giving it a future, since Saddam Hussein has since been removed from power. The past of the Ba’th Party has been a tumultuous one. There have been hundreds of thousands of deaths and tortured persons in the name of Ba’thism. The future of this ideology is uncertain, but it undoubtedly will be a fascinating one.
