Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi

Why has Libya fallen apart since 2011? The world has largely given up trying to understand how the revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi has left the country a failed state and a major security headache for Europe. Gaddafi's police state has been replaced by yet another dictatorship, amidst a complex conflict of myriad armed groups, Islamists, tribes, towns and secularists. What happened? One of few foreign journalists to have lived in post-revolution Tripoli, Ulf Laessing has unique insight into the violent nature of post-Gaddafi politics. Confronting threats from media-hostile militias and jihadi kidnappings, in a world where diplomats retreat to their compounds and guns are drawn at government press conferences, Laessing has kept his ear to the ground and won the trust of many key players. Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi is an original blend of personal anecdote and nuanced Libyan history. It offers a much-needed diagnosis of why war has erupted over a desert nation of just 6 million, and of how the country blessed with Africa's greatest energy reserves has been reduced to state collapse.

This edited volume provides the first fully comprehensive evaluation of Libya since the Qadhafi coup in 1969. Throughout the different chapters the authors explore the rise of the military in Libya, the impact of its self-styled revolution on Libyan society and economy.

Libya is a dynamic country with a rich and turbulent history that goes far beyond present conflicts. Its people have long fought for freedom and self-government. This publication offers a framework for understanding the pursuit of this progress. The chapters herein presents Libya as seen by a next generation of leaders, ready to build peaceful, democratic, and inclusive institutions. Using events in Libya's recent history as a guide (the establishment of the United Kingdom of Libya under King Idris in 1951; the establishment of the Libyan Arab Republic under Gaddafi in 1969; and the struggle for unity following the 2011 February 17th Revolution), the authors envisage a bettter future for Libya, one in which the light of hard-fought liberty is preserved for generations to come. Through the insights of professionals and experts, above all new Libyan voices, this volume is testament of a bright and secured future for a beautiful and compelling country.

Why has Libya fallen apart since 2011? The world has largely given up trying to understand how the revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi has left the country a failed state and a major security headache for Europe. Gaddafi's police state has been replaced by yet another dictatorship, amidst a complex conflict of myriad armed groups, Islamists, tribes, towns and secularists. What happened? One of few foreign journalists to have lived in post-revolution Tripoli, Ulf Laessing has unique insight into the violent nature of post-Gaddafi politics. Confronting threats from media-hostile militias and jihadi kidnappings, in a world where diplomats retreat to their compounds and guns are drawn at government press conferences, Laessing has kept his ear to the ground and won the trust of many key players. Understanding Libya Since Gaddafi is an original blend of personal anecdote and nuanced Libyan history. It offers a much-needed diagnosis of why war has erupted over a desert nation of just 6 million, and of how the country blessed with Africa's greatest energy reserves has been reduced to state collapse.

This narrative chronicles Libya's, and to a vast extent Muammar Gaddafi's, remarkable past, meteoric rise to prominence, and convoluted reign, and introduces potential scenarios that may play out in the near term. After four decades of tyrannical, erratic—and pioneering—changes fueled by oil wealth, Muammar Gaddafi's government fell in 2011, and Libya embarked on a new course without known charts. Libya: History and Revolution covers the nation from its origins as independent land masses and kingdoms to its present as a consolidated nation. The work does not focus on the "old" Libya, but aims to bridge yesterday's Libya with tomorrow's, looking at the nation as a regional economic power and military player in North Africa and the Middle East. The result is a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand introduction to the political, economic, and military history and events that led to Gaddafi's downfall, coupled with a consideration of Libya's past and present. Opening with historical underpinnings, the book focuses on the conflict and revolution in Libya during the Arab Spring that brought Gaddafi down, a change that opened a new future for the oil-rich nation. The book closes with a thoughtful discussion of what may be next for Libya and of possible perils for the nation, the region, and the world, as Libya matures as an independent, representatively governed country.

In February 2011, Andrei Netto, a reporter for O Estado de São Paulo , one of Brazil's main newspapers, traveled without permission into a region of Libya controlled by the regime, aiming to cover the first armed revolution of the Arab Spring. One of the first foreigners to reveal to the world the extent of the uprisings, he spoke to hundreds of Libyans, including many of the students, shopkeepers, doctors, teachers, and intellectuals who armed themselves with rifles, grenades, and anti-aircraft guns to attack the armored vehicles of an illegitimate regime responsible for 42 years of torture, murder, and terrorism. This is their story. A unique and memorable account of a revolutionary war, Bringing Down Gaddafi provides previously unpublished information about the Libyan conflict, including the circumstances of Gaddafi's death, behind the scenes diplomacy at the UN Security Council, and the supply of weapons to the Libyan rebels from abroad. Andrei Netto's testimony alerts the world to the atrocities committed by both sides in the conflict ended with Muammar Gaddafi's summary execution on the outskirts of his home city. Netto provides a powerful journalistic narrative with the spirit of a road movie and the elements of suspense worthy of a thriller.

The international intervention after the 2011 Libyan uprising against Muammar Gaddafi was initially considered a remarkable success: the UN Security Council’s first application of the ‘responsibility to protect’ doctrine; an impending civilian massacre prevented; and an opportunity for democratic forces to lead Libya out of a forty-year dictatorship. But such optimism was soon dashed. Successive governments failed to establish authority over the ever-proliferating armed groups; divisions among regions and cities, Islamists and others, split the country into rival administrations and exploded into civil war; external intervention escalated. Ian Martin gives his first-hand view of the questions raised by the international engagement. Was it a justified response to the threat against civilians? What brought about the Security Council resolutions, including authorising military action? How did NATO act upon that authorisation? What role did Special Forces operations play in the rebels’ victory? Was a peaceful political settlement ever possible? What post-conflict planning was undertaken, and should or could there have been a major peacekeeping or stabilisation mission during the transition? Was the first election held too soon? As Western interventions are reassessed and Libya continues to struggle for stability, this is a unique account of a critical period, by a senior international official who was close to the events.

"A powerful study. . . . With devastating understatement, Kikhia shows how Qaddafi's rule made everything far worse than it had been under the monarchy--from the availability of water to industrial output, from personal freedoms to foreign policy. . . . In brief, this is by far the best book ever written on the Qaddafi era."--Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly "A first-rate objective analysis of the complexities of modern Libyan politics with a special focus on that country's controversial leader. . . . Thoughtful and well-researched . . . evenhanded and immensely readable."--Library Journal With a perspective rarely available to American readers, Mansour O. El-Kikhia, a native of Libya, offers this readable and comprehensive overview of his revolutionary homeland and its controversial leader. He presents a brief history of Libya through the periods of colonization, independence, Arab socialism, and economic growth and then explains the impact of Qaddafi's personality and policies in this context. Mansour O. El-Kikhia is associate professor of political science at the University of Texas, San Antonio.