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Neo-Ba'athism is a distinct variation of Ba'athism that was formed as a result of the 1966 Syrian coup d'état led by Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad, which moved the Syrian Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party into a militarist organization that became independent of the National Command of the original Ba'ath Party. Neo-Ba'athism has been described as a divergence from Ba'athism proper that had gone beyond its pan-Arabist ideological basis by stressing the precedent of the military and purging the classical Ba'athist leadership of the old guard, including Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. The Neo-Ba'athist regime, which espoused radical left ideologies such as Marxism, abandoned Pan-Arabism, and sought to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union, came into conflict with Arab nationalists such as Nasserism and the Iraqi Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party.

Neo-Ba'athism is primarily associated with Assadism, based on the policies of the successive governments of Hafez al-Assad and his incumbent son Bashar al-Assad. This system is largely characterized by nepotism and sectarianism, with Hafez al-Assad's seizure of power in the 1970 Syrian coup d'état leading to the consolidation of Alawite minority dominance within the military and security forces. State propaganda portrays Assadism as a neo-Ba'athist current that evolved Ba'athist ideology with the needs of the modern era.

Ideology

Neo-Ba'athism advocates the creation of a "vanguard" of leftist revolutionaries committed to build an egalitarian, socialist state in Syria and other Arab countries before making steps to achieve pan-Arab unity. The vanguard organisation is the Ba'ath party; which advocates class-struggle against the traditional Syrian economic elite classes; the big agriculturalists, industrialists, bourgeousie and feudal landlords. By the 1970s, 85% of agricultural lands were distributed to landless peasant populations and tenant farmers. Banks, oil companies, power production and 90% of large-scale industries were nationalised. The neo-Ba'athists led by Salah Jadid who came to power in 1966 concentrated on improving the Syrian economy and exporting the doctrines of class-conflict and militant socialist revolution to the neighbouring countries. This view was challenged by General Hafez al-Assad and his neo-Ba'ath faction; who were proponents of a military-centric approach and focused on a strategy of strengthening the Syrian military to defend the socialist government against imperialist forces and their alleged internal collaborators. Assad favoured reconciliation of various leftist factions and pursued better relations with other Arab states. Although majority of the party members favoured Salah, Hafez was able to gain the upperhand following the events of the 1970 coup dubbed the "Corrective Movement" in official Syrian Ba'ath history. Assad's victory also marked the supersedure of the military over the Ba'ath party structures; making the armed forces a central centre of political power.

Criticism

Salah al-Din al-Bitar, a member of the classical Ba'athist leadership, stated that the 1966 Syrian coup d'état "marked the end of Ba'athist politics in Syria". Ba'ath party founder Michel Aflaq shared the sentiment by stating, "I no longer recognise my party!"

According to Jamal al-Atassi, co-founder of the Arab Ba'ath Party, stated that "Assadism is a false nationalism. It's the domination of a minority, and I'm not talking just of the Alawites, who control the society's nervous system. I include also the army and the mukhabarat. And despite its socialist slogans, the state is run by a class who has made a fortune without contributing—a nouvelle bourgeoisie parasitaire."

President of the United Arab Republic, Gamal Abdel Nasser, accused the neo-Ba'athists of Syria of anti-religion and sectarianism.

References

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3. Mann, Joseph (2007-01-01). "The Conflict with Israel According to Neo-Ba'ath Doctrine". Israel Affairs. doi:10.1080/13537120601063358.
4. Korany, Bahgat; Dessouki, Ali (2010-07-15), The Foreign Policies of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization, American University in Cairo Press, pp. 423–424, ISBN 978-977-416-360-9
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9. Galvani, John (February 1974). "Syria and the Baath Party". MERIP Reports (25): 3, 7–10. doi:10.2307/3011567. JSTOR 3011567. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
10. Pipes, Daniel (1992). Greater Syria: the history of an ambition. Oxford University paperback. New York: Oxford Univ. Pr. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-506022-5.
11. Viorst, Milton (1994). Sandcastles: the Arabs in search of the modern world. Syracuse University Press. p. 146. ISBN 978-0224033237.
12. S. Abu Jaber, Kamel (1966). The Arab Ba'th Socialist Party: History, Ideology and Organization (1st ed.). Syracuse, New York, USA: Syracuse University Press. pp. xii–xiii, 76–78, 93–95. LCCN 66-25181.