BA'TH PARTY

in full Arab Socialist Ba'th Party, or Arab Socialist Renaissance Party, Arabic Hizb al-Ba'th al-'Arabi alIishtiraki, Ba'th also spelled Ba'ath Arab political party advocating the formation of a single Arab socialist nation. It has branches in many Middle Eastern countries and has been the ruling party in Syria and Iraq. The Ba'th Party was founded in 1943 in Damascus by Michel 'Aflaq and Salah ad-Din al-Bitar, adopted its constitution in 1947, and in 1953 merged with the Syrian Socialist Party to form the Arab Socialist Ba'th (Renaissance) Party. The Ba'th Party espoused nonalignment and opposition to imperialism and colonialism, took inspiration from what it considered the positive values of Islam, and attempted to ignore or transcend class divisions. Its structure was highly centralized and authoritarian. The Syrian Ba'thists took power in 1963, but factionalism between "progressives" and "nationalists" was severe until 1970, when Hafiz al-Assad of the "nationalists" secured control. In Iraq the Ba'thists took power briefly in 1963 and regained it in 1968, after which the party's power became concentrated under Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Differences between the Iraqi and Syrian wings of the Ba'th Party precluded unification of the two countries. Within both countries the Ba'thists formed fronts with smaller parties, including at times the communists. In Syria the main internal threat to Ba'th hegemony stemmed from the Muslim Brotherhood, while in Iraq Kurdish and Shi'ite opposition was endemic.