ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a review of some of the literature on Arab nationalism, both the classic and the modern. It provides some definitions relevant to the study of Arab nationalism. The constraints that Arab nationalism places on Arab policies are discernible in many cases, foremost among them the Palestinian question. The Islamic activism played a significant part in the early formulations of Arab nationalism and, as events in the Middle East have shown, continues to be a reservoir from which all classes of Muslims draw strength in times of uncertainty. Egypt’s size and strategic importance in the Arab world were two important factors that contributed to the powerful emergence of Arab nationalism in the 1950s and the 1960s. Arab nationalism, as has been discussed, embodies religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical factors. The danger is that in recognizing the failure of Arab nationalism, the very real political role of the ideology may be discounted.
