Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: from Triumph to Despair.

• Position: Book Review

Dawisha, Adeed. Arab Nationalism in the Twentieth Century: From Triumph to Despair. Princeton, N J: Princeton University Press, 2003. Hardcover $29.95.

Adeed Dawisha analyzes Arab nationalism from its "early stirrings" and inception until its demise. He distinguishes between Arabism and Arab nationalism and takes issue with authors who do not. He also provides a description and discussion of Sati' al-Husri's theory of Arab nationalism and demonstrates how al-Husri's nationalism was influenced by German cultural nationalism theory as opposed to the more political theory of nationalism that was conceived by English and French philosophers. As Arab nationalism developed, it had to contend with what Dawisha terms "competing loyalties" of tribe, religion, region, etc. from the 1920s until the "Arab revolt in Palestine." The rise of Arab nationalism occurred between the Palestinian revolt and the Egyptian revolution. Nasser was the main figure of Arab nationalism and Dawisha provides a wonderful analysis of the Nasser period and shows how events overtook Nasser's better judgement...