Syria and the Doctrine of Arab Neutralism: From Independence to Dependence

330 Pages·2005·7.456 MB·English

by  Rami Ginat

SYRIA AND THE
DOCTRINE OF ARAB
NEUTRALISM
For M y Children
Yoav, M ia and Oliver
SYRIA AND THE
DOCTRINE OF ARAB
NEUTRALISM
From Independence to Dependence
Rami Ginat
Sussex
ACADEMIC
PRESS
Brighton • Portland
Copyright O Rami Ginat, 2005
The right of Rami Ginat to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
24681097531
First published2005 in Great Britain by
SUSSEX ACADEMIC PRESS
PO Box 2950
Brighton BN2 5SP
and in the United States of America by
SUSSEX ACADEMIC PRESS
920 NE 58th Ave Suite 300
Portland, Oregon 97213-3786
All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of
criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ginat, Rami.
Syria and the doctrine of Arab neutralism : from independence
to dependence / Rami Ginat.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-84519-008-4 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Syria—Politics and government—20th century.
2. Neutrality—Syria. 3. Arab nationalism—Syria. 4. Syria—
Foreign relations. I. Title.
DS98.2.G56 2005
327.5691'009—dc22
2004010991
CIP
Typeset and designed by G&G Editorial, Brighton
Printed by MPG Books, Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Contents
List of Illustrations vi
List of Abbreviations viii
Preface x
Acknowledgments xix
Introduction Neutralism in Retrospect: Definitions and 1
Paradigms
1 Syria’s Road to Independence: The Emergence of 20
Pragmatic/Calculative Nationalist Neutralism
2 The Rise of “Anti-Western Neutralism” in 43
Post-Mandatory Syria
3 Neutralism in Practice: Syria and the Consolidation of 83
the Arab-Asian Group
4 Communism, Syria, and Neutralist Trends 130
5 Syria’s Rival Schools of Neutralism and the Road to Union 171
6 Nasserite “Positive Neutralism” and the United Arab 196
Republic
Conclusion The Rise of the Neo-Ba’th and the Gradual 220
Demise of Neutralism
Appendix Modes of Practised Arab Neutralism 234
Notes 238
Bibliography 280
Index 289
N/
Illustrations
Jacket picture: Anti-Western demonstration in Damascus. The title of the
banner is: “The purpose of the [Four Powers] collective defense [proposal]
is the bringing in of foreign and Jewish armies into our country,” al-
Musawwar, 23 November 1951.
Illustrations between pages 137 and 143: All pictures courtsey of the Dayan
Archive, Tel Aviv University.
Signing the formation of the United Arab Republic: Presidents Shukri al-
Quwatli (Syria) and Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt), al-Musawwar, 7
February 1958.
Discussing the future of the union: Sabri al-‘Asali, the Syrian Prime
Minister (left), Akram al-Hawrani, a Ba‘thist leader (second left), Egyptian
President Nasser (second right) and the Syrian President al-Quwatli (right),
al-Musawwar, 28 February 1958.
Greeting an old friend: Tito, the Yugoslav leader, and Nasser, the President
of the UAR at the opening ceremony of the Belgrade Conference of non-
aligned countries, al-Musawwar, 15 September 1961.
A post-Bandung meeting: Nehru, the Indian leader and his new ally Nasser,
the Egyptian leader, Cairo, al-Musawwar, 15 July 1955.
Changing shifts: Shukri al-Quwatli, the newly elected Syrian President, at
a meeting with his predecessor, Hashim al-Atasi (right), Damascus, al-
Musawwar, 27 August 1955.
Spreading smiles in Cairo: Sa‘id al-Ghazzi, the Syrian Prime Minister
(white suit, left), Nasser (center), and the Saudi Crown Prince, Emir Faysal
bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz (right), satisfied with their consent to conclude a mutual
military pact, al-Musawwar, 14 October 1955.
V I
ILLUSTRATIONS
Following the formation of the UAR: Nasser and Nehru among the
world’s great leaders, a caricature in al-Musawwar, 7 March 1958.
Whither is Syria heading? One of many demonstrations in Damascus
calling to object Western military defense arrangements and to adhere to a
policy of neutralism, al-Musawwar, 17 December 1954.
A demonstration of Syrian women in the streets of Damascus remon­
strating against the Four Powers’ proposal to the Arabs to participate in
the formation of a MEC, al-Musawwar, 15 November 1951.
The Cairo Conference of Arab leaders in response to the imminent Turco-
Iraqi mutual defense pact. Fans al-Khuri, the Syrian Prime Minister, is in
the middle between Nasser (left) and the Saudi Crown Prince, Emir Faysal
bin ‘Abd al-’Aziz (right), Akhir Sa‘ah, 26 January 1955.
The opening speech of the Bandung Conference by Ahmad Sukarno, the
Indonesian leader, Akhir Sa ah, 27 April 1955.
V II
Abbreviations
AMSZ Arkhivum Ministerstva Spray Zagranitshnykh [Archives of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Poland]
CENTO Central Treaty Organization
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union
FO Foreign Office [Britain]
FRUS Foreign Relations of the United States
ISA Israel State Archive
KDP Kurdish Democratic Party
MEC Middle East Command
MEDO Middle East Defense Organization
NA National Archives of the USA
NAI National Archives of India
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NKVD Narodni Komitet Venutrenix Dyel [People’s Commissariat
of Internal Affairs]
NMM&L Nehru Memorial Museum & Library
NSC National Security Council (US)
RGANI Rossiiskii goasudarstvennyi arkhiv Noveishei Istorii
[Russian Governmental Archive of Contemporary History]
PRO Public Record Office
RCC Revolutionary Command Council
RG 59 General Records of the Department of State
RG 84 Foreign Office Posts of the Department of State
RGASPI Rossiskii goasudarstvennyi arkhiv sotsial’no-politicheskoi
istorii [Russian governmental Archive of Social-Political
History]
SAWPY Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia
SCP Syrian Communist Party
SCUN Security Council of the United Nations
SEATO South East Asian Treaty Organization
SOAS School of Oriental and Asian Studies
N/lll
ABBREVIATIONS
SPP Syrian Partisans of Peace
SSNP Syrian Social National Party
SWB Summary of World Broadcast
UAR United Arab Republic
UNO United Nations Organization
WPM World Peace Movement
IX
Preface
This book deals with the modern history of post-mandatory Syria. It also
deals, peripherally, with Third World and Arab countries such as India,
Indonesia, Yugoslavia, and Egypt—the pioneering states of neutralism.
The main concern is Syria’s foreign policy, the chief feature of which was
the reliance on the doctrine of Arab neutralism, a doctrine whose multi­
faceted character is in keeping with its historical evolution. The effects that
Arab neutralism had on shaping Syria’s foreign policy and its national
identity are examined. This study also charts the evolution of the ideology
and policy of neutralism in Syria, from the early 1940s—the first days of
the Cold War, when many Asian and Arab countries were still under the
influence and hegemony of Western powers—through the 1950s and early
1960s, when revolutionary Arab countries such as Egypt and Syria (the two
were united from 1958 to 1961) played a leading role in the newly estab­
lished movement of non-aligned countries—the largest group of countries
in the international arena. Although the focus is on Syria’s foreign policy,
it has many references to pre- and post-revolutionary Egypt, which exer­
cised an enormous influence over Syria’s foreign policy, in particular after
the downfall of Adib al-Shishakli in 1954.
Following the end of World War II, Arab governments, in particular
those in Syria and Egypt, began to wonder whether their close ties with the
West served their national interests. Britain and France were considered by
most Arab countries as imperialist powers whose aim was still to exploit
the Arab world and to bring it under their control. Arab manifestations
and expressions of goodwill toward the United States gradually changed
to bitterness and disappointment. This was a result of three major factors:
US policies toward the Arab-Israeli conflict; America’s ambiguous stand
during the years of intense struggle with Britain, particularly in the case of
the Anglo-Egyptian conflict; and pressure to establish a Middle East
Command, which would have meant allying the Arab nations themselves
with the West in case of conflict with Eastern bloc countries.
In contrast to the Western powers, the USSR, while not necessarily
considered trustworthy, was viewed by the Arabs as a power that did not
x