What is the main source of the chaos in the Middle East?

The main source of the chaos in the Middle East is the crisis of political legitimacy.

In modern society, the construction and consolidation of political legitimacy is the cornerstone of state power. Any regime that loses legitimacy cannot guarantee its political stability. This is just as Rousseau said: "The strongest man cannot remain his master forever unless he transforms strength into justice and obedience into responsibility."

The famous German scholar Max Weber also believes that, "Without legitimacy, it is difficult for a ruler, a regime or a system of government to gain the ability to handle conflicts, which is critical to long-term stability and good governance."

On the surface, the current crises faced by the Middle East countries are complicated and chaotic, but the crisis of political legitimacy is undoubtedly an important source of collective turmoil in the Arab countries of the Middle East.

Extended information:

In the current chaos in the Middle East, political turmoil is mainly concentrated in the latter two types of Arab countries, and the turmoil in the charismatic countries is the most serious.

The important source of turmoil is that the latter two types of countries either rely on the authority of leaders or rely on traditional systems. Although their political systems have undergone certain fine-tuning, they are essentially difficult to adapt to the requirements of modern society. It then lost its legitimacy and became the target of current waves of popular protests trying to subvert it. Specifically, the political legitimacy crisis in Arab countries is mainly reflected in:

First, the legitimacy crisis of the source and inheritance of power. Whether it is a charisma-style democratic republic or a traditional monarchy in the Gulf, long-term authoritarian politics and gerontocracy have made the country's political system rigid, and most countries are generally facing a leadership succession crisis.

Especially in authoritarian communist countries, the political aura of political leaders in achieving national independence and liberation is increasingly dimming, and the people have increasingly lost confidence in the current system. The current wave of protests in the Middle East is also a violent outlet for the people's long-term despair and desire for change.

Second, the crisis of ideological legitimacy. In contemporary Arab society, there are various ideologies and social trends of thought. It can be said that "you sing and I will appear on the stage."

However, neither Arab nationalism nor Arab socialism in the 1950s and 1960s, nor Islamic revivalism in the 1970s and 1980s, have been able to realize the desire for Arab national rejuvenation. A serious ideological disorientation has occurred.

Third, the legitimacy crisis of social psychology. Today's Arab regimes mostly emerged from national independence movements, and gaining national independence and liberation is an important source of their legitimacy.

However, since the 1970s, most Arab regimes have fallen into a crisis of governance performance, with continuous setbacks in the national modernization process, the fragmentation of the Arab world, multiple defeats in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and bullying by external powers. The trampling has caused the Arab nation to have a serious identity crisis and social psychological crisis.

Global Network-Liu Zhongmin: Political legitimacy crisis is the root cause of turmoil in the Middle East