The Arab Left

by Tareq Y. Ismael

Arab nationalism is the principal force shaping the lives of the Arab people in the 20th century. But Arab nationalism is not a stable, constant influence upon the Arab environment. Rather, it is a multi-dimensional dynamic process that interacts with the Arab environment -- local, regional, & international. This book discusses the transformation of Arab nationalism, the problem of Arab unity, the Palestinian question, & social transformation. Examines political parties from after WW II to the mid-1970s. Extensive appendices.

Genres: History, Politics, Middle East, Nonfiction

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Tareq Y. Ismael is Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, Canada. He is Secretary General of the International Association of Middle Eastern Studies and founding co-editor of the International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies. His research interests and numerous publications centre on ideologies in the Middle East and international and domestic politics in Middle Eastern countries, with focus on Iraq.

Reviews

[Oscar Gómez · Rating 3 out of 5]

a very interesting read and in many ways a glimpse into 1976 and analysis of the near past of then. The analysis at times is insightful, other times it's funny when compared to how the scene of the Arab states played out, so deeply entrenched in reactionary fervor, and obviously prior to the US devastation of the area in the war on terror. There's a consider time focused on the ba'ath party, which has a much more optimistic lens on their ideology and trajectory than one might say now. The first half of this book covers this New Lefts perspective, a socialism undefined and inconcrete but highly antagonistic to Communism and marxism-leninism. I'm grateful to read this book, but I wouldn't recommend others read it to gain a grasp on the Arab Left as we know it now. Nevertheless, there's considerable effort made to make the area intellible to a western audience and great lengths in translating tye Arabic.

[n]

stumbled upon this in my university library and, while outdated because it was published in the late seventies, i still found it to be a comprehensive & valuable resource, i also felt that it helped me contextualise a lot of free-floating information i'd heard/ read over the years about the history of arab leftist movements