The Ba'ath Socialist Party in Iraq and Syria
This paper will discuss the evolution of the Ba'ath Party in Iraq and Syria, concentrating upon the different methods used by the party leaders in each country to consolidate power. The first part of the paper will briefly discuss the history of the Ba'ath Socialist Party prior to the events which brought each to power in Iraq and Syria. The second part of the paper will examine the philosophical underpinnings of the Party and their relationship to the Ba'ath governments in Iraq and Syria. The third part of the paper will compare the histories of the Ba'ath parties after they came to power in the two countries and the characteristics of the leaders who presently rule the two countries, Saddam Husein and Hafiz al-Asad.
The Ba'ath Socialist Party had its roots in the Arab nationalist movement during the 1920s and 1930s. The party itself was born in 1947, when it held its first congress. There were two primary founders, Michael `Aflaq and Salah al-Din Bitar, both of whom were schoolteachers from Damascus. The party quickly attracted Arabs from all regions, although its influence was concentrated primarily in Syria and Iraq. The party was dedicated to three goals: freedom from foreign control, unity of all Arabs, and socialism. The first two goals were quite naturally derived from the pan-Arabist movement which had been gaining ground during this time period; the last goal came from a desire to bring social justice to the poor an underprivileged in the Arab world (Devlin, 1991, p. 1397; Collelo, 1988, pp. 195-96).
By socialism, however, the Ba'ath founders did not necessarily mean the equalization of wealth and the provision of adequate food, shelter, and clothing for everyone. Instead, they advocated focusing upon the individual, freeing everyone's unique talents and abilities (Collelo, 1988, p. 196). In this sense, social justice was aimed at individuals, rather than soci...