(CNN) -- The renewed bloodshed and defiant protests in Egypt prompts a provocative question: Could Egypt really collapse? Just two years into a revolution that ignited during the Arab Spring, Egypt's defense minister warned this week the raging conflict "may lead to the collapse of the state and threaten the future of our coming generations." On Wednesday, analysts described that statement as overreaching, but none dismissed the severity of the country's problems. "His comments were a bit over the top," said Joshua Stacher, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center of Scholars. "It depends on what your definition of what 'collapse' is," added Steven A. Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. "The economy is certainly in terrible shape."
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Egypt's raging conflict "may lead to the collapse of the state," defense minister says
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The remark is a warning that things are getting out of control, analysts say
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But experts largely agree that the remark is "a bit over the top"
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Egypt's government needs to build "confidence" among its people, Clinton says
"They are smart people," @placeholder said of opposition leaders, "but the problem is that they don't seem like they want to have a real democracy either."