Baathist
Arab socialist partisan
A Baathist is a follower of Baathism, the Arab nationalist ideology that dominated Syria and Iraq for decades.
The Baath Party seized power in both countries in the 1960s, with Saddam Hussein's Iraq and the Assad family's Syria representing its two rival branches.
The regime purged suspected Baathists after the invasion.
The term often appears in discussions of Middle Eastern authoritarianism and post-war Iraq's de-Baathification policies.
Communal economic control
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- anti-imperialismOpposition to foreign domination
- republicanismGovernment by elected officials
modernization · centralization · single-party · authoritarianism · statism · non-alignment · anti-Zionism · revolutionary
Iraqi provincial capital
- Republican GuardElite government-protecting military unit
- fedayeenSelf-sacrificing militant fighters
- invasionForcible entry into territory
- sanctionsPunitive international restrictions
Gulf War · insurgency · Sunni · coup · 1968 · Baath Party · chemical weapons · Kuwait
Iraqi authoritarian ruler, executed
- Bashar al-AssadDeposed Syrian president
- party memberEnrolled political supporter
- cadreCore of trained personnel
- loyalistFaithful supporter of authority
apparatchik · functionary · cell · branch · division · membership · indoctrination · oath
Syrian seat of government
- civil warDomestic armed conflict
- crackdownSudden strict enforcement
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
refugee · Aleppo · reconstruction · hereditary · dynasty · surveillance
socialism
Communal economic control
- secularismSeparation of faith, state
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- anti-imperialismOpposition to foreign domination
republicanism · modernization · centralization · single-party · authoritarianism · statism · non-alignment · anti-Zionism · revolutionary · vanguard
Tikrit
Iraqi provincial capital
- Republican GuardElite government-protecting military unit
- fedayeenSelf-sacrificing militant fighters
- invasionForcible entry into territory
sanctions · Gulf War · insurgency · Sunni · coup · 1968 · Baath Party · chemical weapons · Kuwait · embargo
Saddam Hussein
Iraqi authoritarian ruler, executed
- Bashar al-AssadDeposed Syrian president
- party memberEnrolled political supporter
- cadreCore of trained personnel
loyalist · apparatchik · functionary · cell · branch · division · membership · indoctrination · oath · purge
Damascus
Syrian seat of government
- civil warDomestic armed conflict
- crackdownSudden strict enforcement
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
opposition · refugee · Aleppo · reconstruction · hereditary · dynasty · surveillance
BaathistIslamist
Muslim political ideologue
theocrat · jihadi · jihadist · monarchist · Wahhabi
Baathistdissident
Opposer of established systems
rebel · exile · defector · revolutionary
Baathistdemocrat
Advocate for popular rule
liberal · pluralist · constitutionalist · federalist · dissident