Thuselt C (2021)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2021
DOI: 10.1080/13530194.2021.1919992
The failure of the Arab Spring has frequently been explained by the inability of the rebels not only to formulate their grievances in a language other than their own but also to take over a political system and its institutions. This is usually contrasted with earlier revolutionary movements. However, this essay, contrary to this assumption, states that two of the most powerful revolutionary ideologies of the 20th century, Marxism and Baʿthism, did not have any precise ideas about these very institutions. Using the al-Baʿth-party as an example, it is demonstrated that this lack of institutions is to be understood as an expression of a romantic longing to charge a political entity with deeper contents of human search for meaning. This overburdening with meaning reflects institutions inadequately and is thus to be understood as an essential basis of authoritarian self-privilege with power.
APA:
Thuselt, C. (2021). Revolutionary Utopia in the Middle East as steely romanticism: the case of the al-Baʿth party. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2021.1919992
MLA:
Thuselt, Christian. "Revolutionary Utopia in the Middle East as steely romanticism: the case of the al-Baʿth party." British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies (2021).
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