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1. A Fragmented Society: The Internal Dynamics of Libya’s Conflict

Author:
Thomas Volk, Jason Pack, Younes Abouyoub, Emadeddin Badi, Jonathan Winer, Amanda Kadlec, Gerald Feierstein, Mohamed Eljarh, and Bouchra Rahmouni
Publication Date:
10-2020
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
While most discussions about the Libyan crisis revolve around geopolitics and international interference, internal divisions within Libya’s civil society and political institutions have also played a fundamental role in destabilizing the country since the fall of Moamar Gaddafi in 2012. Governance in Libya is fragmented with very few truly national actors. It also continues to lack political institutions that are seen by all Libyans as legitimate. The ongoing conflict consists of many contending local and tribal players, including spoilers who have demonstrated opposition to either peace or reconciliation except on the basis of total victory by their group. What are the major obstacles to stabilization? How can Libya approach the establishment of political institutions? In what ways can the international community support a Libyan-led peace process? The Middle East Institute, the Regional Program Political Dialogue South Mediterranean of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and the Policy Center for the New South are pleased to jointly host a group of experts to discuss these questions and more in a closed roundtable format.
Topic:
Civil Society, Conflict, Crisis Management, Peace, and Reconciliation
Political Geography:
Libya and North Africa

2. A Viable Libyan Government Must Be Built From The Bottom Up

Author:
Rasmus Alenius Boserup, Hans Lucht, and Mohamed Eljarh
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Hampered by a combination of a historical absence of strong and centralized state institutions and a recent destruction of the institutional pillars underpinning the Gaddafi-regime, Libya’s transition government that took office on 17 December 2015, remains at a loss. Like previous transition governments, the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) has failed to re-establish central authority. In a new DIIS brief, Senior Researchers Rasmus Alenius Boserup and Hans Lucht and Non-resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Mohamed Eljarh, analyse the constraints for the current government. They propose a way forward based on an acknowledgement that power resides in the peripheries of Libya, not at the centre.
Topic:
Political Power Sharing, Peacekeeping, and Political and institutional effectiveness
Political Geography:
Libya

3. The Case for a New Federalism in Libya

Author:
Karim Mezran and Mohamed Eljarh
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The French intellectual Jean Baudrillard once said, “It is always the same: once you are liberated, you are forced to ask who you are.” In the case of Libya, this question should have been at the center of every political initiative immediately following the collapse of Muammar Qaddafi's regime. Libya's new leadership had the opportunity to convene a national dialogue in an effort to explore questions of national identity and a new vision for a national mission. Unfortunately, the Libyan elites who emerged from the 2011 civil war did not make national dialogue a priority, opting to appease local forces—armed and political—rather than to undertake the difficult but critical task of nation-building.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Libya

4. Libya's Faustian Bargains: Breaking the Appeasement Cycle

Author:
Karim Mezran, Jason Pack, and Mohamed Eljarh
Publication Date:
05-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The proximal cause of Libya's current problems in the security sector, the economy, and the transition to constitutional governance is the Libyan authorities' policy of appeasement of their opponents. Some analysts have absolved the post- Qaddafi authorities-the National Transitional Council (NTC), General National Congress (GNC), government, cabinet, and ministries-of both their agency and responsibility for the current problems by blaming Qaddafi-era policies, Libya's primordial social and regional structures, and the absence of institutions (such as a national army or civil society) for most challenges currently facing the country. These factors are, indeed, key components of the troubles and constitute the root causes of the current situation. However, these preexisting factors have been exacerbated and mutated by the practice of appeasement.
Topic:
International Security and Governance
Political Geography:
Libya and North Africa

5. The Case for a New Federalism in Libya

Author:
Karim Mezran and Mohamed Eljarh
Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Following Muammar Qaddafi's ouster more than three years ago, Libya fragmented, and the absence of a capable central government opened up the space for a violent political struggle over the country's key resources and state institutions that continues today. Given Libya's troubled history with centralization, there is a need for a rethink about a post-revolutionary form of governance. However, calls for federalism based on the country's three historical regions (Cyrenaica in the east, Fezzan in the south, and Tripolitania in the west) are outdated and do not take into account that Libyans' loyalties to tribe, clan, or region trump their sense of national identity. In "The Case for a New Federalism in Libya," Karim Mezran, a senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and Mohamed Eljarh, a nonresident fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center, argue for a different approach. In order to empower local authorities to address distinctly local grievances while supporting a vision for a unified Libya, the authors offer a fresh proposal for a federalist system in which the executive branch handles foreign affairs and national security issues and considerable legislative powers are devolved to the regions. Such a set-up would require clear communication between the levels of government and help to eliminate the threat of partition by more effectively responding to the distinctive challenges of different segments of Libyan society. Federalism in Libya, however, faces obstacles, including the fundamental one of trust, as concerns linger that federalists' real objective is to secede. The authors provide recommendations for how to overcome these roadblocks and institutionalize federalism, including by establishing a consultative constitution-drafting process and launching a civic responsibility initiative focused on self-governance within the rule of law.
Political Geography:
Libya