The Arab Ba'th Socialist Party : ideology, politics, sociology and organisation

Abstract

Societies in transition to modernity hav their own unique though similar, political problems . This is a case study of the Ba'th party though, to some extent, it ponders the problems of other political parties and governmental systems in the developing areas of the world. The reasons for the Ba'th political disintegration on 23 February 1966 in Syria, form the focal point of this study and are treated under four headings, Ideology, Politics, Sociology and Organisation. One of the most important things to be isolated in this study is the fact of a ' mentality gap 'existing between the ide a l and reality. The Ba'th, for example , was the victim of societal change. On the one hand it advocated Arab unity on the basis of Freedom and Socialism - a nation secular in orientation. Yet the environment in which the Ba'th flourished was torn between the ideal of a secular nation state (i . e . nationalism) which had proven its worth in Europe and America and the reality of familial ,communal and regional ties. Within the Ba'th this dichotomy developed in various forms which are considered under the four headings. The climax on 23 February 1966 - the party r s · day of doom, is related to this mental dichotomy . I have come down firmly on the side that the Ba'th was sacrificed on the rock of the ideal of a secular Arab nation because of the presence of historic communal, regional and socio-economic dichotomies in Arab society and among the membership recruited to the party .