The Arab Baath (), also known as the Arab Baath Party, was an Arab nationalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

founded in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Zaki al-Arsuzi Zaki al-Arsuzi (; June 18992 July 1968) was a Syrian philosopher, philologist, sociologist, historian, and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its political movement. He published several b ...

in 1940.

History

Arsuzi was previously a member of the League of Nationalist Action but left in 1939 after its popular leader died and the party had fallen into disarray, he founded the short-lived Arab National Party in 1939 and dissolved it later that year. He formed the Arab Baath in 1940 and his views influenced

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq (‎, ; 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociology, sociologist and Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its political movement; he ...

who, alongside junior partner

Salah al-Din al-Bitar Salah al-Din al-Bitar (; 1 January 1912 – 21 July 1980) was a Syrian politician who co-founded the Ba'ath Party, Baʿath Party with Michel Aflaq in the early 1940s. As students in Paris in the early 1930s, the two formulated a doctrine t ...

, founded the Arab Ihya Movement in 1940 that later renamed itself the Arab Baath Movement in 1943. Though Aflaq was influenced by him, Arsuzi initially did not cooperate with Aflaq's movement. Arsuzi suspected that the existence of the Arab Ihya Movement, which occasionally titled itself "Arab Baath" during 1941, was part of an imperialist plot to prevent his influence over the Arabs by creating a movement of the same name. A significant conflict between Arsuzi's and Aflaq's movements occurred when they sparred over the issue of the 1941 ''coup d'état'' by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and the subsequent Anglo–Iraqi War. Aflaq's movement supported al-Gaylani's government and the Iraqi government's war against the British, and organized volunteers to go to Iraq and fight for the Iraqi government. However, Arsuzi opposed al-Gaylani's government, considering the coup to be poorly planned and a failure. At this point, Arsuzi's party lost members and support that transferred to Aflaq's movement. Subsequently, Arsuzi's direct influence in Arab politics collapsed after Vichy French authorities expelled him from Syria in 1941. Aflaq's next major political action was its support of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

's war of independence from France in 1943. The two movements eventually merged in 1947 without the involvement of Arsuzi.

References

1940 establishments in Mandatory Syria 1947 disestablishments in Syria Arab nationalism in Syria Ba'athist parties Defunct political parties in Syria History of the Ba'ath Party Nationalist parties in Syria Political parties disestablished in 1947 Political parties established in 1940 {{Syria-party-stub

History

See also

References