The Arab Uprisings Under the Light of Intervention

Diverse uprisings took place in the Middle East and North Africa due to various political, tribal, sectarian, religious, social, and economic factors. In several cases they turned into civil wars. As a principle of international law, intervention is undoubtedly prohibited. A request from a government may justify intervention or even annul its very nature as interference. Humanitarian intervention or the new doctrine of responsibility to protect, have also been invoked in that context. Interventions in Bahrain, Libya and Syria are discussed here. However, there is no coherence duty in politics, and States may decide to intervene or not on variable legal basis.