Clearly, no matter how much the Middle East tries to show its support for democracy, equal rights and the voice of the people, it cannot easily adjust from the status quo to progressing to democracy. Coming from a land where kingdoms, tribes, clans and factions dominated the culture, people had to be on one side to have a sense of belonging and must follow orders, even if it is meant to preserve their group’s solidarity by defeating a rival group. Modern governments may follow the western approach, but clearly, as one expert mentioned it, the ties of factions are deeper than what nationality can offer.
Recently, Egypt was on the verge of a civil war as Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy excluded the monitoring of his presidential decisions by the legal sector until a new constitution is written. This led to the walk-out of many political representatives, leaving Morsy with an Muslim Brotherhood-dominated constitution. This led to chaos in Egypt with people protesting against the domination of the Muslim brotherhood. However, the constitution was trashed as it is subject to the approval of the citizenry itself.
The Israel-Gaza conflict also shows that still, cultural dispute is still alive regardless of years. Israel attacked Gaza by killing its Military head, in which Gaza retaliated, sending Israel to have a few weeks of war and volleyfire exchange against each other. The conflict, though resolved, had left Gaza noticed by the world, and the impending instability in the area.
Will there be peace in an area of the world were the mentality is still patriarchal and people still continue to view themselves as part of a faction or clan that their ancestors once belonged to? It can be possible, but it is yet to be seen given the current situation of the Middle East today.