Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon
Syrian Social Nationalist Party الحزب السوري القومي الإجتماعي Parti social nationaliste syrien | |
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Syrian irredentism
Historical: | |
National affiliation | March 8 Alliance |
Syrian counterpart | Syrian Social Nationalist Party |
Colours | Black, red and white |
Parliament of Lebanon | 0 / 128 |
Cabinet of Lebanon | 1 / 30 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
www | |
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon (SSNP-L)
Founded in
Foundation and early years
The SSNP-L was founded in Lebanon by
In November 1932, he secretly established the first nucleus of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, which operated underground for the first three years of its existence.[7] In 1933, it started publishing a monthly journal called Al-Majalla which was distributed in the American University of Beirut. The articles written in that journal and the speeches given by Saadeh consolidated the ideological basis of the party, and contributed to its popularity.[7]: 43
Its open hostility to colonialism led to six months in prison for creating a clandestine party in 1936.[7] He was also accused in the trial of having been in contact with the fascist movements of Germany and Italy, but the charge was dropped as a letter was addressed from Germany denying any relationships.[7] It is during his months in prison that Saadeh laid down the final ideological foundations of the party in The Genesis of Nations.
Saadeh emigrated again to Brazil in 1938 and afterwards to Argentina, only to return to Lebanon in 1947 following the country's independence from the French in 1943. By that time, the SSNP-L had grown exponentially and had clashed on many occasions with its primary ideological rival, the Kataeb Party, which was committed to the notion of Lebanon in its French borders.
The SSNP-L rejected this state of Lebanon on the basis that the borders outlining the newly created states were fictitious, resulting from colonialism, and do not reflect any historical and social realities. The party claimed that
On 4 July 1949, a year after the declaration of the establishment of the state of Israel and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and as a response to a series of aggressions perpetrated by the Kataeb-backed central government, the SSNP-L attempted its first revolution. Following a violent crackdown by government forces, Saadeh traveled to Damascus to meet with Husni al-Za'im in an attempt to obtain his support, although he was handed over to Lebanese authorities, and executed on July the 8, 1949.[9]
From confrontation to accommodation: 1950–1960
Following the execution of Saadeh and the arrest of its high-ranking leaders, the party remained underground until it started resurfacing with the events that transpired during the 1950–1960 period. With the outbreak of the
The party objected to the declaration of The
Second coup d'état and repression: 1961–1975
On the last day of 1961, two SSNP-L members, company commanders in the Lebanese army, led an unsuccessful attempted lightning coup against President Fouad Chehab, supported by some 200 civilian SSNP-L members.[12][13] In the scholarly literature, the coup has been explained as stemming from the party's ideological preference for violence ("bullets over ballots"), its frustration at exclusion from the Lebanese state, and both political and military criticism of the rule of Fouad Chehab.[13]
This resulted in a renewed proscription and the imprisonment of many of its leaders.[14] Most of the party's known activists remained in prison or exile until a general amnesty in 1969.[12] In 1969, the party re-aligned towards Arab nationalism.[15]
The Lebanese Civil War: 1975–1990
Syrian Social Nationalist Party | |
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Leaders | Lebanese civil war (1975–1990) |
With the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, the SSNP-L militias fought alongside the nationalist and leftist forces allied in the
After the
In 1983, the party joined the
Post–civil war
In 2005, the pro-Syrian and anti-
In the
. The Syrian Nationalist Party couldn't secure a single seat in 2022 Lebanese general elections.Ideology
The Ideology of the SSNP-L is a mixture of
Prominent politicians
- Assaad Hardan (Greek Orthodox)
- Marwan Fares (Greek Catholic)
- Ali Qanso (Shia Muslim)
- Gebran Areiji(Maronite)
- Mahmoud Abdel Khalek (Druze)
- Ghassan Ashqar(Maronite)
- Salim Saade(Greek Orthodox)
Legislative Elections
House of Representatives | ||||||
Election year | # of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
# of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | ???? (#2) | ??? | 6 / 128
|
6
|
||
1996 | ???? (#3) | ??? | 5 / 128
|
1
|
||
2000 | ???? (#4) | ??? | 4 / 128
|
1
|
||
2005 | ???? (#10) | ??? | 2 / 128
|
2
|
||
2009 | ???? (#8) | ??? | 2 / 128
|
|||
2018 | 23,881 (#10) | 1.36% | 3 / 128
|
1
|
||
2022 | 11,621 | 0 / 128
|
3
|
See also
- 1975 Beirut bus massacre
- Eagles of the Whirlwind
- Lebanese Civil War
- List of armed groups in the Syrian Civil War
- Mountain War (Lebanon)
Notes
References
- ^ Preston, Scott (14 January 2021). "Is the SSNP Becoming a Reformist Party in Lebanon?". Inside Arabia.
- ^ Antun Saadeh, The Genesis of Nations, (Dar al-Fikr, Beirut)
- ^ Antun Saadeh, "The Explanation of the Principles". URL: http://www.ssnp.com/new/library/saadeh/principles/ Archived 2016-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ See: Adel Beshara (ed), Antun Saadeh: the Man, his thought (2007)
- ^ MEED. Economic East Economic Digest, Limited. April 1983.
- ^ Irwin, p. 24; ssnp.com Archived 17 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine "Our Syria has distinct natural boundaries…" (accessed 30 June 2006).
- ^ ISBN 978-0-203-88856-8.
(...) during his speech of 1 June 1935 (...) Antun Saadeh declared (...) "(...) The Syrian Social Nationalist Party is neither a Hitlerite nor a Fascist one, but a pure social nationalist one. It is not based on useless imitation, but is the result of an authentic invention. (...)"
- ^ A. Saadeh. The Genesis of Nations. Translated and Reprinted. Dar Al-Fikr. Beirut, 2004
- ISBN 978-0-86372-348-3.
- ^ Seale, p. 50
- ^ Article on pro-SSNP website on the party's role in the 1958 civil war accessed 19 January 2006.
- ^ a b "Behind the Terror". The Atlantic. June 1987.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-136-00614-2.
- ^ U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States Volume 17, Near East,1961–1963, (Washington, DC: GPO 1993), 383-384.
- ^ "What is left of Lebanon's Syrian Social Nationalist Party?". L'Orient Today. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ^ Neil A. Lewis (18 May 1988). "U.S. Links Men in Bomb Case To Lebanon Terrorist Group". The New York Times.
- ^ ]
- ^ "The World Today - 13/05/2008: Fighting in Lebanon claims life of Melbourne taxi driver". ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Hundreds protest against SSNP attack on Future TV journalist". The Daily Star. 29 November 2008. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
Further reading
- "What is left of Lebanon's Syrian Social Nationalist Party?". L'Orient Today. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.