Arab Nationalism During the Cold War

Modern Arab nationalism originally developed as a backlash to the

colonialization of the Middle East by western powers such as Britain and France.

Despite decolonization, European imperialism was maintained through sympathetic

conservative monarchs and the construction of an informal empire. As such, Arab

nationalism continued to play a prominent role in Middle Eastern and global politics

through much of the Cold War.

In order to address Arab nationalisms impact on the Cold War however, one

must first attempt to define it. Based around the principle of Arab solidarity, Arab

nationalism held the eventual aim of complimenting the existent cultural unity in the

Arab world, with a political unity. One of the foremost theorists of Arab nationalism

during the Cold War, Sati al-Husri, defined its logic by arguing that Arabs spoke a

unitary language, had one heart and a common soul, and as such constituted one

nation and should therefore have a unified state (in Dawisha, 2003: 2).

Arab Nationalism was significant in the context of the Cold War because oil and

gas supplies from the Middle East were vital to sustain the European and American

economies. The Soviet Union, recognizing this, sought to compete with the West for

influence in the region, hoping to gain an advantage in the global bi-polar power

struggle.

Full essay : http://www.e-ir.info/2007/12/03/87/