http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/02/did-arab-leftists-betray-revolu-201421674037574769.html
Did Arab leftists betray the revolution?
Lefists have learned a few hard lessons in the wake of the revolutions
that swept across the region in 2011.
Last updated: 17 Feb 2014 05:01
Rima Majed
Rima Majed is a researcher and a PhD Candidate in Political
Sociology at the University of Oxford.
RSS
The Left has had to redefine itself and its priorities, writes Majed
[Reuters]
The traditional Arab left-wing parties were as surprised as the Arab
dictatorial regimes by the popular uprisings that started in late 2010 and
swept over the region. Ironically, most left-wing parties were caught
unprepared for what has become an important revolutionary movement in the
modern history of the world.
The Arab revolutions forced the Left to redefine itself and its
priorities. Questions of social and political liberation became pressing
matters in the region. The Egyptian and Syrian revolutions, in particular, have
played an important role in widening the divide among traditional leftist
groups, while making way for a new generation of activists to emerge.
Left-wing parties, labour movements and unions in the Arab world have
generally followed one of two trajectories: Either giving in to the state and
becoming completely coopted by its apparatus; or, facing harsh repression and
being banned from political life. For example, both the Egyptian and the Syrian
communist parties were banned under Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Baath regime
(during the unification years) until they agreed to align themselves with the
regimes.
In Syria, the communist party was only allowed to operate after it
accepted to be part of the National Progressive Front established in 1972 by
Hafez al-Assad in the name of pluralism, but for the clear goal of controlling
any political activism. This step has consolidated an age-old split within the
Syrian communist party, with more radical members forming the "Syrian Communist
Party (Political Bureau)" led by Riad al-Turk. This opposition group has been
fiercely repressed by Assad's regime that has banned the organisation and put
Turk in prison in 1980 for 18 years.
A collection of commentary and analysis on the Arab uprisings.
Therefore, the so-called "progressive", "socialist" and "nationalist"
regimes of the Arab world since the 1950s, have actively killed any serious
prospect for the emergence of a radical leftist or working class movement
through co-optation or repression.
In 2011, the Arab uprisings have exploded and diffused for a mixture of
reasons to do with deep socio-economic roots and clear political repression by
brutal regimes. On the eve of the uprisings, the socio-economic indicators of
the Arab world were alarming. In addition to political oppression by
dictatorial regimes, a considerable number of people in the Arab world were
struggling to survive.
The neo-liberal policies that have started with Anwar al-Sadat in Egypt
reaching Syria in 2000 after the ascension of Bashar Al Assad to power have
clearly been beneficial for the ruling class and those around them; however
this has happened at the expense of the big majority of the population that
suffered from increasing inflation, rising costs of living, high unemployment
rates (especially among the youth) and extreme poverty. In Syria for example,
the percentage of those living under the poverty line ($1/per) rose from 11
percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2010.
With such socio-economic indicators, one would have expected the Left to
organise and mobilise in demand of social justice; however this didn't happen.
The Arab uprisings detonated in a very random way and rapidly spread
cross-nationally defying old concepts of national borders and nationalism and
proving that people from different parts of the Arab world (and the world at
large with movements like Occupy and Indignados) could identify with each other
on the ground of oppression and inequality.
The Arab uprisings detonated in a very random way and rapidly
spread cross-nationally defying old concepts of national borders and
nationalism and proving that people from different part of the Arab world (and
the world at large with movements like Occupy and Indignados) could identify
with each other on the ground of oppression and inequality.
However, the question remains: What role did the Left play in those
uprisings?
The answer varied, depending deeply on the level of absorption within the
regimes prior to 2010. With the exception of Tunisia, where the General Labour
Union played a crucial role in the revolution because it has historically been
independent from the state, most other left-wing parties in the region have
been marginalised and basically played no important role in the uprisings.
Communist parties in Syria (Bakdash branch) and Lebanon for example have
opposed the uprisings saying that "it is very clear that what has been taking
place in Syria has been in accordance with the imperialist plans". The
traditional Left has been discredited by the popular movements in the streets
because of their relationships with the old regimes.
New forms of left-wing activism have, however, surfaced in the last few
years such as the Revolutionary Socialists[Ar] in Egypt, the Revolutionary Left
Current in Syria and the Socialist Forum in Lebanon. Although these groups are
still relatively young and do not have enough political leverage or popular
support, their understanding of the Arab revolutions and their analysis of its
developments show a long-awaited "political maturity" in the Arab Left.
The Arab Left today
Whereas the traditional left-wing parties mostly adopt a Stalinist
top-down approach focusing on a national liberation approach, the growing
leftist movements in the region are clearly influenced by a Trotskyist approach
believing in the power of popular grassroots movements and socialism from
below.
The main difference between those currents within the Arab Left today is
that the traditional Left believes that priority should be given to national
liberation; whereas younger leftist groups consider that the main focus should
be on social liberation since no real independence can be reached under a
capitalist and repressive system.
Contrary to the traditional leftist parties that focus mainly on
geo-politics (favouring Iran and Russia under the illusion that these countries
are anti-imperialist forces) and external imperialist and Zionist threats,
these new leftist movements prioritise activism against internal inequalities
and repression without losing sight of the broader geo-political context and
the fact that Israel is an occupier.
In other words, the Trotskyist approach believes in the permanent
revolution, which combines both the struggle for national liberation, and
social and economic emancipation. For instance, whereas the Lebanese Communist
Party considers that the events in Syria are part of a bigger conspiracy to
strengthen Israel's position in the region by trying to topple the Assad
regime, the Lebanese Socialist Forum sees that what is happening in Syria today
is a heroic popular revolution against a dictator even though there are many
attempts at killing it through the rise of reactionary movements such as
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the severe backlash from the
brutal Assad regime.
In addition, traditional left-wing parties have surrendered to the
dichotomous political analysis whereby they feel the need to side with one camp
against the other. This has rendered these parties no more than weak followers
who have no real leverage at the political or popular level. The new leftist
groups, however, have given way for an analysis outside the rigid dichotomies
and reductionist approaches.
For example, the Revolutionary Socialists in Egypt are at once against
the old Mubarak regime, the army (represented by military chief Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi) and the Muslim Brotherhood. A similar position is taken by
revolutionary leftist groups in Syria, who are radically against both the Assad
regime and the reactionary forces such as the ISIL or Al Nusra front.
Finally, if there is one thing both the traditional and younger left-wing
organisations have learned from the Arab uprisings, it would be that their
romanticised idea of the revolution is not accurate. In as much as revolutions
are powerful and essential, revolutionary periods are not as rosy and easy as
the Left would have wished.
The Arab revolutions should be understood as a long-term process of deep
economic, social and political change that will undergo many ups and downs
before it finally settles. During this process, many of the social taboos will
be broken, many of the norms and values will change and many movements will
grow, but at the same time, many lives will be lost, many people will suffer
and entire cities can be demolished in an attempt by the brutal regimes to
erase not just the present, but the past as well.
Rima Majed is a researcher and a PhD Candidate in Political Sociology at
the University of Oxford.
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not
necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.
