BA’ATHISM
Ba’athism is an Arab political doctrine which combines elements of socialist
thinking with pan- Arabism. This theory of Arab nationalism conceives of the
‘Arab nation’ as a single entity stretching from Morocco to Iraq which has
been artificially divided by colonialism and imperialism.
Ba’athism originated in Syria, where the first Ba’ath Party was founded in
1953. Ba’athists have held power in Syria since 1963 and Iraq since 1968,
although the two branches of the movement are deeply divided. There have
been further divisions between its civilian and military elements. While the
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein employed the slogans of pan-Arabism to justify
his invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the Ba’ath Party in Iraq has been reduced to
an instrument of state power.
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