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Arab Unity Schemes Revisited: Interest, Identity, and Policy in Syria and Egypt

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 April 2009

Eberhard Kienle
Eberhard Kienle
Affiliation:
Associate Professor in the Department of Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russel Square, London WC1H OXG, U.K.
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Extract

From the day in April 1946 when the last French soldiers left and Syrians were finally able to run their own affairs, their policies toward other Arabs have differed significantly, although decreasingly over the years, from the policies pursued by Egyptians. Within their country, Syrian legislators used to privilege Arab over non-Arab foreigners in various respects, including the investment of capital as well as the acquisition of citizenship and political rights, while fewer, if any, advantages of this sort were granted in Egypt Such differences in the treatment of noncitizen Arabs at home have been paralleled by different policies toward other Arab states. Unity schemes, a prominent feature in inter-Arab relations generally, are one key area where approaches diverged quantitatively as well as qualitatively and where favorable attitudes in Syria often contrasted with considerable reluctance on the Egyptian side.

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Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , February 1995 , pp. 53 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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References

NOTES

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33 As quoted in Seale, Struggle for Syria, 130, referring to al-Barada (Damascus), 25 October 1953.

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98 Ibid., 26 April 1992.

99 Seale, Struggle for Syria and Kerr, Arab Cold War remain the most comprehensive sources to date.

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