Thus as the promises of the past receded and the sense of fragmentation increased Arabs began to turn to new political ideologies, charting a new path for the Arab nation. The1920s and 1930s saw the rise of communism and socialism and it is at this time saw the rise of political movements. Michel Aflaq, Antoun Saade and and were at the forefront of competing major nationalist movements. Pan Arabism of Alflaq dismissed new Arab states as artificial, Saade’s local nationalism saw the importance of new state defending their sovereignty, and Bitar’s saw regional unity of the Gulf, North Africa and greater Syria as a step to larger Arab unity. These movements personified a sentiment which was held by many Arabs, they were the foundations of Baathism. Essentially Arabs said that all differences were accidental and unimportant and would all disappear with the awakening of Arab consciousness. Unlike Saade they insisted that moral and cultural deterioration had weakened the Arab spirit. The Baath established themselves in Syria promoting the collective destiny of the Arabs; with their slogan, “one Arab nation with an eternal mission” – it was aimed at the masses, emphasising freedom, unity and socialism. This provided a credible political mission for the Arab nation. By 1957 the Baathists controlled the Syrian government but faced the anti-nationalists of Saade and communists. Indeed it was the constant threat of Israel and existence of Nasser, which gave them hope. The Baathists went to Egypt to form the United Arab Republic, wherein citizens were Arab and the country was Arab territory. However, in 1961 was the crisis when Syrian units launched a cessations coup. The dream of Arab unity had failed with Nasser quitting avoiding military enforcement of the patchwork republic. The dream of Arab unity took the stage again in 1963 as Nasser tried again, with Iraq and Syria. In essence the Baath and Nasser had carried it to the summit of its achievements and the break up demonstrated big differences of Arab visions for unity. From 1966 onward, party moved away to new principles. From the 1970s the Baath take on unity was no longer central under Saddam Hussein and Al Assad; Iraq and Syria became enemy states, a contradiction of Baathism in practice. Once more a theory that had united the Arabs was transformed, Hussein saw himself the defender of Arabs against the Iranians- another enemy; this was an example of how unity took second place to national gain, one profound factor in the failure of unity.
The effects of these multiple, often conflicting ideologies was that the Arab world separated pursuing different agendas. This aligned some with the West and left others alone; highlighting the case for how foreign intervention has had a big part to play in the failure of Arab unity. In 1916 the Sykes-Picot agreement pre-empted the fall of the ottomans, stating that Britain and France were prepared to recognise and protect an independent Arab state outside the areas outside of their control. They had entered negotiations with Sharif Hussein of Mecca, the obvious leader to an Arab state, through 10 letters 1915-1916, promising him the Arab east, peninsula, Iraq, greater Syria, Jerusalem 10th of June 1916 he fired a gun at the Turkish barracks in Mecca to commence the war of independence with Prince Faisal his third son, directing it. In middle of war the British betrayed the Arabs with another agreement, Balfour in 1917, promising Lord Rothschild a Jewish home in Palestine, laying the foundations for Israel, suddenly “ Arab forces were forbidden a role in Palestine” as Barakat argues, compounding the historiographical argument that “all modern Arab history was built at that moment, Syria, Zionist entity, etc were made by Balfour”. In addition the obvious consequence of the Sykes-Picot agreement was that it led to “tribal an sectarian divisions” running the newly found the states, the west installed the Hashemi, Saudi, Sabah, Al Thani, Allawi, Idrisi and Makhtoum families to power- which had a profound effect on Arab unity, in that these leaders were indebted to the West and their foreign policies had to display that. For instance when the Jordanians, with 38 British commanders only fought on the UN Arab allocated land and Iraq, Syria and Egypt fought in the Israeli zone in 1948. The Jordanians intervened in stopping a decisively Jewish takeover of Jerusalem but the British forbade them. This exceptionally highlights a big factor in the failure of Arab unity that Unanimity on the Arab street had not translated into concerted action by Arab leaders who have been preoccupied with managing the translation from colonial occupation to independence as most Arab leaders were concerned with matters closer to home. Nasser who arguably broke from this, gained first battle experience in 1948 war, it had influence on him. However, thirty-six years after his death of no one leader has inspired such pride or instilled such rallying hope within the Arab world, qualities which a people who presently more than any one time in history are yearning for : centralised Government and effective leadership, giving them a true independent and confident stance in International Affairs. Shibley Telhami, who holds the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland recently stated that, “There is a hunger for leadership in the Arab world, a hunger for change". It is not just the West’s involvement in monarchies that has effected chances of unity, the Repblics of the Arab world benefit their respective armies and then intelligences and then families; to the extent that the word republic (Jamhuriya) has been merged with the word monarchy (Mamlaka) to make “Jamlaka”, regimes backed by the west where Presdient’s sons are given power, becoming whips of domination as opposed to bastions of unity.
The foreign interference and the Palestinian question are most definitely intertwined in stopping Arab unity from achieving its goals. Hani Abdel Hadi, Director of the Palestine Strategic Studies Institute, “ You can see leaders taking an interest in having a say in Palestine since Palestine is in the core not of the Arab-Israeli conflict but because it is in the heart of the Arab consciousness, who he governs Jerusalem has the upper hand in the Arab world. This explained further, Bahjat Abou Gharbieh, Palestinian Resistance leader 1936-48, stating that, “One of the most crucial plans in the Levant aimed at tearing apart the Arab world” and stopping it from the unity of the Arab world was the plan to create the state of Israel. This is because, “the state would divide Egypt and north Africa from the Levant”. When the League of Nations convened in Geneva, issuing a mandate in article number two that the British must put Palestine under political and economic conditions that would facilitate the establishment of a Jewish state”- the writing was on the wall so to speak, foreign powers would aid the Zionists and dismantle notions of Arab unity. In 1948 750,000 Palestinian refugees fled to neighbouring Arab countries, the UN passed resolution 194 resolution, to give them “right to return” it has never implemented this. During the Second World War, the Jewish settlers in Palestine almost had a complete state whereas the Palestinian leaders were exiled to the Seychelles, in 1938 they numbered fifty thousand. The first time the Arab leaders convened on the Palestinian question was this year, they chose the role to mediate rather than to oppose as they had to be seen to be pro-British. Thus form the outset it is ostensible to the historian that foreign involvement played a big role in the crisis that is Arab disunity in that it forced new alliances to supersede those traditional to Arab brotherhood.
In conclusion conflicting identities, minority demands, the establishing of Israel in 1948, different ideologies and their interpretation and western interference have played a profound role in making Arab unity so difficult to achieve. A sense of “Arabness” has existed for as long as the Arabs have walked the stage of history, this however has been subsequently difficult to harness. Pan Arabism, Arabism, Arab nationalism all encapsulate modern Arab history interchangeable titles for two basic objectives political independence and unity from Morocco to Bahrain. It is also essential not to dwell to closely on the Palestinian question, after the nakba, Arabs were to an extent united by the tragedy but what must be considered in any historical assessment is that Palestine became a supplement or a displacement of a wish/disaster which is not implemented so Arabs are unified symbolically but not effectively. King Abullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud stated recently, "The real blame should be directed at us, the leaders of the ", to an extent he was right in making this clear, however what must be understood is that conflicted ideology and the way it has been used for personal gains have wounded Arab unity heavily, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait blunted the idea of Arab unity as the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon has. In 1982 Saddam Hussein stated, “Pan Arabism no longer acceptable to Arab mentality, must not be imposed on 22 sovereign nations of the Arab world”, what this also may suggest is that the ideals of Aflaq, taking the Baathist example, were over-romanticised and have not been adapted to the realpolitik of the international arena, essentially though all this factors have led to “il wahde al arabiye!” or Arab unity being a goal yet to be achieved.
Bibliography
Books
Ajami,Fouad, The End of Pan-Arabism, Foreign Affairs 57 (Winter 1978-79): 355-373;
Bazzaz, Abd al-Rahman al-. On Arab Nationalism, translated by Edward Atiyah. London: Embassy of the Republic of Iraq; printed by S. Austin,1965.
Goldschmidt, Arthur and Lawrence Davidson. A Concise History of the Middle East, Eighth edition. page 207-208. Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado 2005
Porath, Arab Unity, 257-319; Gershoni and Jankowski, Egyptian Nation, 195-211
Sallam, Qasim, Al-Baath wal Watan Al-Arabi [Arabic, with French translation] ("The Baath and the Arab Homeland"), Paris, EMA, 1980
Tawfic E. Farah (ed.), Pan-Arabism and Arab Nationalism: The Continuing Debate (Boulder, 1987).
Articles
Dan Morrison, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad VOICE OF IRAN ECHOES THROUGH ARAB WORLD, Chronicle Foreign Service Sunday, June 25, 2006
Mohammed A. R. Galadari, the Khaleej Times, the 3 July 2006
Collection of articles in Rashid Khalidi et al., Origins, and Frank Clements, The Emergence of Arab Nationalism From the Nineteenth Century to 1921, A Bibliography (Wilmington, 1976).
Documentaries
A Question of Arab unity- Why Unity?- 28 Jan 08- Ep 1- Part 1 (Al Jazeera)
Question of Arab Unity-Trials&Tribulations-12Feb08-Ep3 Pt1 (Al Jazeera)
A Question of Arab Unity-A Cause for Unity -18Feb08 -Ep4-Pt1 (Al Jazeera)
Interviews
Friday 1st February, with Aboudi Al Bazzaz, grandson of the former CEO of OPEC and Iraqi Prime Minster Abd Al-Rahman Al Bazzaz. Also with an interview with his HRH undisclosed, nephew to the late King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.
Dr Halim Barakat- Dept. Arabic Studies, Georgetown University
On early Arab nationalism see the collection of articles in Rashid Khalidi et al., Origins, and Frank Clements, The Emergence of Arab Nationalism From the Nineteenth Century to 1921, A Bibliography (Wilmington, 1976).
Prof Rabiha Abi Fadel, Lebanese UNI
Dr Fawaz Traboulsi, Politcal Analyst (28th Janurary 2008)
Bazzaz, Abd al-Rahman al-. On Arab Nationalism, translated by Edward Atiyah. London: Embassy of the Republic of Iraq; printed by S. Austin,1965.
Dr Fawaz Traboulsi, Politcal Analyst
Porath, Arab Unity, 257-319; Gershoni and Jankowski, Egyptian Nation, 195-211
Goldschmidt, Arthur and Lawrence Davidson. A Concise History of the Middle East, Eighth edition. page 207-208. Westview Press: Boulder, Colorado 2005
Abd al-Rahman al-Abnudi, Egyptian poet
After 's defeat in , Michel Aflaq and set up the nucleus of what was later to become the . The first conference of the Ba’ath Party (in full, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party), was to be in .
Sallam, Qasim, Al-Baath wal Watan Al-Arabi [Arabic, with French translation] ("The Baath and the Arab Homeland"), Paris, EMA, 1980
Dr Nizam Barakat Prof. of Political Science, Amman University
A Question of Arab Unity-A Cause for Unity -18Feb08 -Ep4-Pt1 (Al Jazeera)
Arab League summit that took place in Riyadh in March of 2007 reaffirmed the first adopted in 2002
Dr Saad Eddine Ibrahim, Sociologist (28 January 2008)