R.I.P Arab Nationalism



Arab Nationalism is, at its most simple, an essentially secular ideology which calls for political union in the Arab World. Many see Egypt's Nasser as presiding over the ideology's high point after which it has failed to reach the same levels of belief throughout the region.

In my Today's 4 post earlier today I commented on the The Kuwait Times report that Kuwait has cancelled the concerts which form part of its annual festival "February Nights" as a sign of solidarity for the Syrian people suffering under Assad. Since reading the Kuwait Times article, this has got me thinking about Arab Nationalism, and what the crisis in Syria tells us about the current state of the ideology: is it dead or alive?

In Today's 4, I argued that Kuwait's cancellation of the February Nights concert series is no more that a "nice gesture". Having reflected further, I am not even sure it is a "nice gesture", but rather an utterly useless stunt which aims to clear the consciences of Kuwait's leaders. Perhaps Kuwait made the move in the name of some form of Arab Nationalism, but if the ideology was really still alive isn't more affirmative action required?

This is not the only example of the Arabian Peninsula countries making merely a superficial move in the name of solidarity for the Syrians. Saudi Arabia's early exit from the Arab League's Observer Mission in Syria, closely followed by the GCC's exit highlighted that the countries of the Arabian Peninsula are willing to pay lip service to supporting other Arab nations but that when the going gets tough, the GCC get going...out...fast.

What the current crisis in Syria is showing us is that the circa twenty countries of the Middle East and North Africa are far more influenced by their own, individual foreign and religious allegiances, both within the Middle East and globally.

In short, the current crisis in Syria is a great acid test by which to ascertain if Arab Nationalism is dead or alive. Arab Nationalism should transcend the Sunni-Shia divide and it should transcend the question as to whether one Arab country has China's, Russia's or any other "superpower's" ear. Similarly, if there was any form of political union, Bahrain would not be refusing to attend Arab League conferences in Baghdad (see previous post) at a time when Syrian civilians are losing their lives by the thousands in Homs.

So, Arab Nationalism appears to be well and truly dead. Whether it will someday be brought back into the land of the living seems highly unlikely but not altogether impossible. I for one will continue to look at events through the Arab Nationalism kaleidoscope to try and spot any sign of a revival.

For now though, it's R.I.P Arab Nationalism.