Group

Arab nationalism

Culture Active 1864 CE – present

Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world.

Its central premise is that the peoples of the Arab world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, constitute one nation bound together by common ethnicity, language, culture, history, identity, geography and politics.

One of the primary goals of Arab nationalism is the end of Western influence in the Arab world, seen as a "nemesis" of Arab strength, and the removal of those Arab governments considered to be dependent upon Western power.

It rises to prominence with the weakening and defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century and declines after the defeat of the Arab armies in the Six-Day War.

Personalities and groups associated with Arab nationalism include King Faisal I of Iraq, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Arab Nationalist Movement, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party which came to power in Iraq for some years and is still the ruling party in Syria, and its founder Michel Aflaq.

Pan-Arabism is a related concept, in as much as it calls for supranational communalism among the Arab states.

Member Cities

Moran, J. (n.d.). Arab nationalism. History Atlas. Retrieved 4 November 2026, from https://www.historyatlas.com/groups/arab-nationalism/

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