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Arab Unity Revisited: Nationalism versus Common Cause
Arab unity is by no means a new idea, and strides towards greater cooperation have taken place throughout the history of the modern Middle East. From Pan-Arabism, to Nasserism, to Islamism, no recent decade has ever gone without its own widespread notion of a single, collective community existing in the Middle East. After years of dialogue supporting the concept of Arab unity, however, what do Arab states have to show for it? If history is to be our guide, what can countries of the Middle East learn from past crises to help them in the future? What causes Arab states to unite or disunite, and has “Arab unity” ever existed? If a collective will is necessary to solve the problems of the future, what does the past foretell: a grim or hopeful picture? This book explains how relationships between Arab states came to be and what forces impacted their actions and beliefs. It looks at three significant events in recent Middle East history -- the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and Oil Embargo, and the 1991 Gulf War -- then analyzes why Arab unity failed or triumphed, and makes connections and conclusions for the future of the region.
Reflectionson Arab Nationalism
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ARAB NATIONALISM(S): RISE AND DECLINE OF AN IDEOLOGY
It is difficult and incorrect to approach the complex issue of the definition of Arab nationalism without providing, at least in broad terms, an examination of how nationalism was born and has developed in Europe, because there is no doubt that, in the Arab world, nationalist ideas and movements are connected to the ideology, the results and the example of European nationalism. To start from the comparison with the European model is important to consider if this model has successfully been applied to the Arab context or if nationalism has been an exogenous ideology forcibly and artificially introduced in Arab context. When speaking about Arab nationalism, at least three phenomena, only partially distinct from one another, must be identified: Arabism, Pan-Arabism and Nationalisms on a local basis. The first is Arabism ('uruba, being Arab) is the sense of belonging to the same world, in a single context from Morocco to Iraq, that emerged in Egypt and Near East in the last decades of the XIX century. From this cultural awareness of Arab identity, the Pan-Arabism (qawmiyya 'arabiyya) developed in the interwars period, but especially after the Second World War. Finally, with the acquired national Arab independences, Nationalism emerged on a local basis, and took the name of waṭaniyya. The debate, which we try to give in synthesis, has never closed and all the major questions are open: if an Arab nation (and therefore an Arab nationalism) has ever existed; if we can talk about a Pan-Arab nationalism once local based nationalisms emerged; which are the ideological principles of Arab Nationalism that are not uncritically assimilated from outside; finally, how and why the nationalistic ideologies have suffered an heavy crisis in front of the impressive rise of contemporary radical Islamism after the Seventies. Today the figure of the global jihadist, not tied to this or that national cause but fighting anywhere you have to fight a ǧihād in the way of God, is the antithesis of the militant of nationalistic movements, for the absolute disregard for any cause that can be defined national. The goal is the creation of an Islamic State, no matter how utopian this project is, not based on the concept of nation but on that of umma. It's the phase of the "après panarabisme": the myth of cohesion from the Gulf to the Atlantic no longer enchants Arab people and Arab States, and the era of Nasser and the Ba'athist dream has finally ended.
Pan Arabism 2.0? The Struggle for a New Paradigm in the Middle East
Religions, 2021
The Abraham Accords, signed in September 2020 have helped shed a light on a new discourse emerging from the Gulf that seeks to challenge some of the old dogmas that have dominated the region in the last few decades. A decade of turmoil that followed what was once dubbed as the “Arab Spring” finds a divided region, full of ethnic and religious conflict, ungoverned territories, and the growing reality of failed states. An “axis of resistance”, led by radical elements from both the Shi’a and the Sunni world, is perceived as a growing challenge to a group of actors led by a number of Gulf countries who identify radicalization as an existential threat. Facing the “axis of resistance”, a new “axis of renaissance” is coming of age with an alternative vision that seeks to change the face of the Middle East. In parallel to the rapid decline of the traditional Arab capitals, the Gulf is emerging as a more significant voice in the region due to its economic, political, and media influence. Thi...
With the advent of the Arab popular uprisings, many hidden ordeals have been uncovered in the region. Nationalism and sectarian (ethno-confessional) problems are among several issues, yet they constitute a source of ongoing turbulence. It is my contention that the Great War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire were at the root of all these problems. In an effort to draw conclusions and a working prognosis, this article focuses on two aspects of the impact and repercussions of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire: firstly the rise of nationalism, and secondly the emergence contemporary Islamic movements and sectarian calamity.
Opening Remarks: Pan-Islamism versus Pan-Arabism and the Recent Arab Awakening
Although each of the twenty-two countries that make up the Arab world has their own individual and unique past experiences, they all have a common history of being under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, divided, and oppressed by European colonizers. It was the religion of Islam that kept the Arabs collected. Primary social identification of the Arabs was based on religion, class or locality (Carmichael, 1957). It was not until the early twentieth century that the Arabs had constructed their identity within the world of Islam. With the desire to unite the Arab people and to combat colonialism across the Arab countries, advocacy of Pan-Arabism transpired. Simultaneously, Pan-Islamism arose with the idea of promoting a return to traditional Islamic principles within society. Although both ideologies are distinct in nature, the point of convergence for both is the aspiration to have Arab unity. It is the extremists at both spectrums that prevents rapprochement. Islam does not disagree with Arab concepts of national unity. They seek national unity, in addition to Islamic unity. The difference is that Arabism rejects secularism. While contemplating these ideologies, Structural Functionalism will be used to examine and demonstrate this issue. Functionalism is a macro-level orientation that views society as an evolving organism. Through a Functionalist perspective, society can be considered a social system that has basic needs that require fulfillment in order to survive. It is believed that society is made up of elements, such as norms, customs, traditions, and institutions. Herbert Spencer describes these parts of society as “organs” that work towards the proper functioning of the “body” as a whole (Urry, 2000). Structures of the society are stable patterns of social behavior, and institutions are subsystems of enduring patterns of social relationships. A change in one structure or institution provokes changes in another and changes can be perceived as disruptive. There is a constant attempt to achieve a state of equilibrium within the social system. When a positive benefit or outcome occurs within a society and is able to maintain equilibrium, a eufunction has occurred. However, if an element or process of society disrupts a social system, or reduces its stability, then a dysfunction occurs. The Functionalist perspective will identify eufunction versus dysfunction within Pan-Arabism, Pan-Islamism, and the Arab Awakening.
The Rise of Arab Nationalism Reconsidered
International Journal of Middle East Studies, 1994
The debate over the origins of early Arab nationalism in geographical Syria before World War I revolves around a twofold thesis presented two decades ago. Its first and most influential part advances a social explanation, maintaining that it was a traditional intra-Arab elite conflict: “those members of the Arab elite who had a vested interest in the Ottoman state were Ottomanists. Those who were without such a stake were Arabists.”