Editing Ba'ath Party (section)

===Transitional Ba'ath: 1960–1964===
====Regionalists versus nationalists====
After the failure of the [[United Arab Republic]] (UAR), a union of Egypt and Syria, the Ba'ath Party was divided into two main factions, the Regionalists ({{langx|ar|Qutriyyun}}) and the Nationalists (pan-Arab) ({{langx|ar|Qawmiyyun}}).{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=36}} When the union with Egypt collapsed, the Ba'ath Party was put in a difficult position, as the party still sought Arab unity but did not oppose the UAR's dissolution and did not want to seek another union with Egypt under [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]'s rule.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=36}} However, being the unionist party that it was, the party's leaders could not state their position on this issue.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=36}} The end result was that the pro-Arab nationalists within the Ba'ath Party became committed [[Nasserism|Nasserists]], while the more moderate Arab nationalists founded the pro-Nasserite [[Socialist Unionist Party (Syria)|Socialist Unionists]] party.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=36}} A third group, led by people disenchanted with both Nasser and the union period, remained in the Ba'ath Party but stopped believing in the feasibility of pan-Arabism.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=36}} On 21 February 1962, the National Command issued a new policy regarding the pan-Arab project by first mentioning the successes and failures of the UAR, but ending the statement by calling for the reestablishment of the UAR as a decentralized [[Federation|federal union]] with Nasser's Egypt.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=37}} Many rank-and-file members opposed this change in policy, with many members being both disenchanted with pan-Arabism and Aflaq's continued party rule.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=37}}

When the Syrian Regional Branch was reestablished, the majority of its members in the provinces were of communal origins – Druze, Alawi, or Ismaili.{{sfn|Ben-Tzur|1968|p=166}} The provincial party members had not been told of the Syrian Regional Branch's dissolution, which in fact broke the communication line with provincial branches and the National Command.{{sfn|Ben-Tzur|1968|p=166}} While it is true that in 1962 the Regionalists supported the slogan adopted at the 5th National Congress, "the renewal of the union with Egypt while taking note of past mistakes", they treated such a slogan as a propaganda slogan rather than a feasible goal.{{sfn|Ben-Tzur|1968|pp=166–167}}

====The "Arab road to socialism"====
The disillusionment felt among party members on the pan-Arab project, led to the radicalization of the party's interpretation of socialism.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=41}} Yasin al-Hafiz, a former member of the [[Syrian Communist Party]], was an early frontrunner for the party's radicalization.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=41}} While he didn't oppose the pan-Arab project, he wanted to turn the concept of Arab socialism into a [[Scientific socialism|scientific]] and [[Revolutionary socialism|revolutionary socialist]] ideology which adapted [[Marxism]] to local conditions.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=41}} [[Jamal al-Atassi]], who had been a moderate socialist for most of his life, called for the renunciation of Arab socialism in 1963 and the adoption of a "virtually Marxist concept of socialism" by claiming that [[Class conflict|class struggle]] was the moving force in society.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=41–42}}

[[Hammud al-Shufi]] became the leader of the party's Marxist faction during his short stint as Syrian Regional Secretary, literally the head of the Syrian Regional Organization.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=77}} Shufi was able, due to his position as head of the Organization Bureau of the [[Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Regional Command]], to recruit several Marxist or Marxist-leaning members to the top of the Syrian Regional party hierarchy.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=77–78}} Radical socialists led by Ali Salih al-Sadi took control of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Iraqi Regional Branch]] in 1963, which led to the official radicalization of the party's ideology.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=82–83}}

The delegates at the 6th National Congress elected an Ideology Committee that was responsible for writing a charter about the party's ideology.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=84–86}} The end result was the document ''Points of Departure''.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=84–86}} The document, which was approved by the 6th National Congress, relegated Arab unity to a secondary role and gave socialism prominence.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|pp=84–86}} Marxist concepts were used interchangeably alongside Ba'athist ones; however, the document was reluctant in explicitly admitting that certain ideas were of Marxist origins.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=87}} The 6th National Congress borrowed key [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] tenets such as "[[People's democracy (Marxism–Leninism)|people's democracy]]" and emphasized the need of a [[Vanguardism|socialist vanguard]] in-order to:

<blockquote>"play the role of mediator and leader (even if it is in power) that acts to direct the journey of the masses towards the socialist future in a scientific way and in a democratic style".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ginat|first=Rami|date=April 2000|title=The Soviet Union and the Syrian Ba'th regime: From hesitation to Rapprochement|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284075|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=36|issue=2|pages=151–152|doi=10.1080/00263200008701312|jstor=4284075|s2cid=144922816|access-date=2023-02-21|archive-date=2023-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221122004/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284075|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

While the ''Points of Departure'' didn't create a break with the party's traditional ideology, it criticized the party's old guard for giving Arab unity primacy over socialism and their failure to turn Ba'athism into a comprehensive theory.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=87}} While the documents says Arab unity is progressive, the reason for it being important changed.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}} The document stated: "Arab unity is an indispensable basis for the construction of a [[Socialist economics|socialist economy]]."{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}} Aflaq also believed that Arab unity was only an intermediate goal, but it stood at the centre of classical Ba'athism.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}} In the ''Points of Departure'', despite not firmly stating it, the goal of creating a socialist society seemed to be both an immediate goal and the main goal of the party.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}}

The concept of Arab socialism, accused of being narrow-minded and nationalistic, was replaced with the "Arab road to socialism" concept.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}}  The ''Points of Departure'' criticized the classical Ba'athist view regarding [[Private property|private ownership]].{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=88}} Classical Ba'athists supported private ownership as a way to recruit into the party many [[Petite bourgeoisie|petty bourgeois]] elements.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=89}} The document called for [[nationalization]] of the commanding heights of the economy, the slow incorporation of the petty bourgeoisie into the socialist economy and the elimination of the [[Bourgeoisie|national bourgeoisie]] and its allied classes.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=89}} To safeguard the party from evolving into one supporting [[state capitalism]], the socialist economy would be controlled by a [[Vanguardism|vanguard party]] together with popular participation from the toiler masses.{{sfn|Rabinovich|1972|p=89}} Major policies in the "Arab road to socialism" included:

<blockquote>The [[nationalization]] of the major branches of the economy with the participation of the toiling masses in the management of the economy, and for the creation of [[Collective farming|collective farms]] to effect the [[revolution]] necessary for the peasants...the Congress stipulated that the changes be directed by a "revolutionary vanguard", the final aim being to establish a "popular democracy" that was to guarantee freedom to the classes which constitute the true people and ensure the country's rapid development. This regime was to center on the party, leading the popular organizations and councils and operating according to the principle of "[[democratic centralism]]"<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ginat|first=Rami|date=April 2000|title=The Soviet Union and the Syrian Ba'th regime: From hesitation to Rapprochement|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284075|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=36|issue=2|pages=157|doi=10.1080/00263200008701312|jstor=4284075|s2cid=144922816|access-date=2023-02-21|archive-date=2023-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230221122004/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4284075|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

====Stance on religion====
[[State atheism|Militant secularism]] was emphasized in the "''Declaration of Principles''" manifesto published by the Ba'ath party in 1960; which declared that the party's "educational policy" was to build a "new generation of Arabs that believe in the unity of the nation and the eternity of its mission".<ref>{{cite web|title=Bashar's Syria: The Regime and its Strategic Worldview|url=http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2590Bashars.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723214138/http://www.herzliyaconference.org/_Uploads/2590Bashars.pdf|archive-date=23 July 2011|accessdate=8 March 2013|pages=364–365}}</ref> The manifesto also stated that this envisaged Ba'athist generation would be "committed to [[Science|scientific thought]] freed from the shackles of superstition and backward customs" and replace religion with [[Arab nationalism]] as their belief system.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rubin|first=Barry|title=The Truth About Syria|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2007|isbn=978-1-4039-8273-5|location=New York, NY|pages=38|chapter=2: The World's Most Unstable Country, 1946-1970}}</ref>