The Phenomenon of Neo-Fascism in the contemporary Middle East: Iraq during the Baath Period as an Example

Abstract

This article analyzes the "phenomenon of neo-fascism in the contemporary Middle East using Iraq as an example" and presents a new definition of this ideology in the Middle East region based on the theory of "ideology critique" by Slavi Žižek. The main objective of this research is to analyze the semantic system of new fascism in the Middle East (e.g. in Baathist Iraq) and to study the characteristics of this phenomenon as a specific ideology in the Middle East. Analyzing the signifiers according to the social and economic context or the intellectual activity of intellectuals such as Michel Aflaq shows that the new Arab fascism in the Middle East focuses on two basic features: "anti-ethnicity" and "ethnic and racial hegemony." These two characteristics are known to have commonalities with Western fascism and are evident in the ideology of neo-Arab fascism. Moreover, this study focuses on a number of important signifiers, such as the rentier state, patriarchal systems, and religious nationalism in the Middle East, which cluster around the major signifier of the "Arab nation" and form the ideological framework of the new Arab fascism. To reach this conclusion, the semiotic method was used to identify and classify the main meanings of neo-fascism that may not be obvious to the public.