Pan-Arabism

Pan-Arabism, nationalist notion of cultural and political unity among Arab countries. Its origins lie in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when increased literacy led to a cultural and literary renaissance (known as the Nahda or al-nahḍah al-adabiyyah) among Arabs of the Middle East. This contributed to political agitation and led to the independence of most Arab states from the Ottoman Empire (1918) and from the European powers (by the mid-20th century). An important event was the founding in 1943 of the Baʿth Party by Pan-Arabist thinkers Michel ʿAflaq and Salah al-Din Bitar, which formed branches in several countries and became the ruling party in Syria and Iraq. Another important event was the founding of the Arab League in 1945. An experiment in political union between two Arab countries, Egypt and Syria, in the form of the United Arab Republic (1958–61) was short-lived. Pan-Arabism’s most charismatic and effective proponent was Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom it reached its peak in both political and social expression. But, after Nasser’s death, disappointment in Pan-Arabism’s inability to effectuate lasting prosperity in the Arab world led to a rise in Islamism as an alternative. Despite the decline in enthusiasm for Pan-Arabist policies, Syria’s Ḥāfiẓ al-Assad, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, and Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi were among those who tried to assume the mantle of Arab leadership after Nasser. For more on the history of integration among Arab countries, see Arab integration.