The Communist Movement In The Arab World

by Ismael,Tareq Y.

• ISBN13: 9780415348515
• ISBN10: 041534851X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-02-03
• Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon

Summary

This book examines the communist movement in the Arab world from the time of the Russian revolution until after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It traces the interaction of the world communist movement, under the aegis of the Communist International (Komintern) in Moscow, which was characterised by an uncritical acceptance of Marxism-Leninism, and local communists, who moved from initial dependence on Moscow to a position more adapted to local circumstances and sensitivities, which could be characterised as a distinctive 'Arab communism'. It goes on to trace the impact of 'Arab communism' on a range of issues in the region, including national liberation and social and economic transformation, arguing that the role of Arab communist parties was highly significant, and disproportionate to the relatively small numbers of communists in the countries concerned.

Author Biography

Tareq Y. Ismael is Professor of Political Science at the University of Calgary, Canada, President of the International Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies at Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus, and the Secretary-General of the International Association of Middle Eastern Studies.

Table of Contents

List of tables	viii
Preface	ix
The heritage of Arab communist parties	1	(16)
The Soviet legacy	17	(24)
The Soviet Union and Arab issues: 1919--1967	41	(30)
The Soviet Union and Arab issues: 1967--1984	71	(13)
Perestroika and after	84	(18)
The crisis of communism in the Arab world: retrospect and prospects	102	(22)
Appendix 1: ``A Manifesto to the Peoples of the East''	124	(9)
Appendix 2: ``The Tasks of the Communists in the All-Arab National Movement''	133	(10)
Appendix 3: ``The Tasks of the Communist Party of Palestine in the Countryside''	143	(4)
Appendix 4: ``Work Among the Peasants'' and ``The Struggle Against Zionism''	147	(16)
Appendix 5: ``Manifesto of the Communist and Workers' Parties of the Arab Countries''	163	(17)
Appendix 6: ``The Social Revolution and the East''	180	(6)
Notes	186	(19)
Index	205