The Arab Baath Movement ( ar, حركة البعث العربي ''Ḥarakat al-Bath al-‘Arabī''), also literally translated as Arab Resurrection Movement or Arab Renaissance Movement, was the Baathist political movement and predecessor of the

Arab Socialist Baath Party The Arab Socialist Baʿath Party ( ar, حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي ' ) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bītār, and associates of Zaki al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused ...

. The party was first named Arab Ihya Movement (''Ḥarakat al-Iḥyā al-‘Arabī'') literally translated as Arab Revitalization Movement, until 1943 when it adopted the name "Baath". It was founded in 1940 by

Michel Aflaq Michel Aflaq ( ar, ميشيل عفلق, Mīšīl ʿAflaq‎, , 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociologist and Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of Ba'athism and its politi ...

. Its founders, Aflaq and Bitar, were both associated with

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

History

The Movement was formed in 1940 as the Arab Ihya Movement by Syrian expatriate Michel Aflaq. Shortly after being founded, the Movement became involved in anti-colonial Arab nationalist militant activities, including

Aflaq Michel Aflaq ( ar, ميشيل عفلق, Mīšīl ʿAflaq‎, , 9 January 1910 – 23 June 1989) was a Syrian philosopher, sociology, sociologist and Arab nationalism, Arab nationalist. His ideas played a significant role in the development o ...

founding the Syrian Committee to Help Iraq that was created in 1941 to support the anti-British and pro-

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

government of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

against the British during the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The ca ...

of 1941. The Syrian Committee sent weapons and volunteers to fight alongside Iraqi forces against the British. Aflaq unsuccessfully ran as a candidate for the Syrian parliament in 1943. After the Syrian election defeat, the Movement sought cooperation with other parties in elections in Syria, including the Arab Socialist Movement of

Akram El-Hourani Akram Al-Hourani ( ar, أَكْرَم الْحَوْرَانِي, ʾAkram al-Ḥawrānī, also transcribed El-Hourani, Howrani or Hurani) (November 1911 – 24 February 1996), was a Syrian politician who played a prominent role during the democra ...

.Spencer Tucker. ''The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Volume 1''. Santa Barbara, California, USA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Pp. 30 The Party merged with Al-Arsuzi's Arab Baath Party in 1947, and al-Hawrani's Arab Socialist Movement later merged into the party in the 1950s to establish the Arab Socialist Baath Party.

References

{{Arab nationalism Arab nationalism in Syria Ba'athist parties Defunct political parties in Syria Defunct nationalist parties Defunct socialist parties in Asia History of the Ba'ath Party Pan-Arabist political parties Political parties disestablished in 1947 Political parties established in 1940 Nationalist parties in Syria Socialist parties in Syria