Causes of Prolongation of the Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa: A Critical Study of Michael Brecher Model

Nobody could imagine that Buazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia would usher in a huge crisis in political power in the Middle East and North Africa. The crisis enlarged with the passage of time, being referred to as the Arab Spring, Arab revolutions, Islamic awakening, human awakening and so on. The main theme of the crisis included people’s opposition to their country’s political structure as well as objection to the values offered by their government. Violent reaction by the Arab governments to popular demands further exacerbated people’s confrontation with the Arab regimes, becoming a turning point in the regional balance of power. The rapid pace of developments in the Middle East and North Africa made the large actors of the international system concerned about the consequences for their own interest in this strategically important region. For this reason, a group of domestic, regional and international players became involved in such developments. In this paper, the authors seek to explain the causes of the crisis in the region, drawing upon Michael Brecher’s model.