1. The disproportional great influence the military exert on the ruling power caused as well by the weakness of the Mid-Eastern politicians themselves that has been much determined by the special status of the military rooted in the national consciousness and historical memory of the people. The political class looked at many things in the country by the eyes of the military, fearful to challenge the army. The political space on which the civil authorities could have operated by political means, remained rather limited, so the politicians’ activities (with care of the military) often proved inefficient, caused popular mistrust and low national support. And, on the contrary, against such a background the trust to the military stood high in the society.
2. In the overwhelming majority of the Arab countries, the civil society is just beginning to develop. There still exist many contradictions between the civil society and the military. The former stands for reforming the army that keeps all the attributes of the authoritative system armed forces, while the governments try to keep the status-quo, being fearful of breaking the balance of forces and interests. Even in such secular and democratic country as Turkey, the ruling elite, especially its military wing, negatively react to such suggestions, as yet. The military are eager to preserve their special status in the society in every possible way, referring to some outside threat, danger of the radical Islamism and ethnic separatism.
3. If the Arab countries in the Middle East choose a democratic way of development, the civil society would begin to gradually play the decisive role in forming the governmental power and policy, in controlling the principal spheres of the state’s life and activities, including the army. Today, however, due to backwardness of democratic institutes in the Mid-Eastern Arab states and, in fact, complete lack of true civil society in them, one may speak not so much of the civil control over the army, but rather of the control on the part of political power that includes, alongside with civil politicians, the representatives of the military as well.