Key Principles and Functions of the Doctrine:  

1. Binding and Uniting: 

The Social Nationalist Doctrine binds all Syrians across sects and affiliations, uniting them with shared direction, interest, and will. It ties individuals to their truths and mutual interests, urging national unity and social advancement. This way, It united those who embraced the message—individuals who, before adopting it, were susceptible to division due to the national and political chaos prevalent in our environment—and transformed them into a single collective and a new system. Saadeh articulated this unity in his 1935 foundational address: 

 “From the moment we bound our hearts and hands to stand or fall together to achieve our supreme goal proclaimed in the Party’s principles, we became a singular collective—a living nation striving for a free and beautiful life. A nation that cherishes life because it loves freedom and faces death when death leads to life.”10 

The Social Nationalist Doctrine seeks to unite the people around a comprehensive national cause, irrespective of their sectarian or denominational affiliations and ethnic backgrounds. Saadeh states: “We are in the Party because we are united in a cause, as I expressed in my speech on June 1, 1935. “We will stand together and fall together for this cause.”11 This cause is the cause of social nationalist revival, the cause of life, freedom, progress, and dignity for the nation. 

Saadeh asserts that the Social Nationalist Movement is the only movement in the country that has developed a comprehensive cause capable of resisting foreign adversarial influences threatening the nation. At the same time, it has established the social nationalist cause that upholds dignity and serves the nation’s interests—standing in opposition to old and new reactionary ideologies that degrade the people and drive them toward harm and ruin.”12 The foundation of this complete cause “lies in our sacred doctrine—in our principles, without which there is no cause.”13 

The doctrine aims to unify the nation’s forces into a single will and an organized effort toward the nation’s great goals. It serves as a bond that connects individuals, uniting their hearts, drawing them closer in spirit, harmonizing their feelings and wills, and gathering them around a single purpose. However, it is not a religious, linguistic, or racial bond but a solid social and spiritual bond that fosters national consciousness and unifies the nation’s people spiritually, socially, and politically, bringing them together in a shared homeland and destiny. 

This bond, as Saadeh describes it, “is the bond of every Syrian man and woman to every other Syrian man and woman and the bond between the past, present, and future generations of Syria.”14 He adds, “All Syrian Social Nationalists believe they are the children of one nation—the Syrian nation. They are united by one doctrine, interest, and will.”15 

 Clarity and Precision: 

 In addition to its function of connecting and uniting, the Social Nationalist Doctrine established specification as a prerequisite for clarity, because “no obscurity can serve as a foundation for true faith”16 Or correct knowledge. The “confused definitions that fragmented our national truth or dissolved and erased it— ‘We are Lebanese,’ ‘We are Palestinians,’ ‘We are Syrians,’ ‘We are Iraqis,’ ‘We are Arabs’—could never serve as a foundation for a true national awareness or for the renaissance of the Syrian nation, which has its own social and economic cycle in a unity of life and destiny.”17 

For this reason, the doctrine clearly defined its critical concepts like nationality, nationalism, freedom, renaissance, sovereignty, homeland, nation, and other fundamental issues—without ambiguity or uncertainty. It also precisely identified the nation’s identity (“Who are we?”), its legal personality, ownership of the homeland, independent cause, and vital interests that it seeks to preserve and defend. The doctrine outlined the boundaries of its cohesive natural geographic environment, distinguishing it from other geographical regions. Furthermore, it affirmed the reality of the nation’s social unity and the necessity of prioritizing its supreme national interest over all factional and selfish interests. 

In summary, Saadeh’s doctrine adhered to the principle of clarity in all matters affecting our lives, asserting that this golden rule “must be followed in any intellectual or human life cause.”18 By adopting this methodology of specification and definition—”national work for the public interest was no longer something vague and aimless but became a clear purpose with a clear goal.”19 Likewise, the Renaissance ceased to be mere shouting, hatred, and chaos; instead, it became an ascent toward well-defined aims in life. 

 Construction and Reform: 

The Social Nationalist Doctrine, through its connection to sound national institutions, is dedicated to actual construction and reform, rescuing society from its corruption and decline. True reform is a comprehensive, clear, and well-studied renaissance effort based on proper planning, creative strength, and an active and conscious mind. Its ultimate goal is to address the root causes of societal ailments, guide people toward their well-being, and empower them to achieve their aspirations and highest ideals. 

This reform is realized through conscious willpower, steadfast heroism, and rational, pragmatic, and wise thinking. In short, the Social Nationalist Doctrine is concerned with revitalizing society, restoring its virtues, and purifying it from moral vices and the defeatist, destructive cultures that undermine our existence. It presents a structured plan for building the Social Nationalist State, organizing its social, political, judicial, and economic affairs, and equipping it with material and spiritual strengths. It lays the foundations for establishing a modern democratic state that upholds the well-being of society, addresses its fundamental issues and interests, improves its conditions, and provides it with peaceful stability, prosperity, and progress. 

1. Empowerment and Awareness: 

The Social Nationalist Doctrine transforms “human herds” into a single, conscious community, empowering it to become a true and active force within the nation, able to overcome the challenges in its path. It forges a great, dynamic force that believes in itself, triumphs over stagnation and unconsciousness, and works diligently to end an era of complacency, retreat, and decline. 

This new force, advancing toward eternal goals, is the power of believing hearts and free hands—”the power of intellects, the power of thought, creation, and imagination, not the power of accumulated status.”20 Owing to this unwavering doctrine, Saadeh asserts, “We are a force that grows, moves, acts, and creates—we are not a lifeless, stagnant mass without strength or vitality.”21 Through this sound doctrine, we can become a “genuine and original force”—conscious, enlightened, and perceptive—”a creative force, organized in thought, speech, and action.”22 

With our unity, renewed ethics, and unwavering determination, will we become this organized and capable force that will change the course of history? 

Related:

Foundations of Social Nationalism: Principles, Purpose, and Power – part 1