Libya
Libya’s Bellwether City
Misrata has always been known as a city of business. But after the revolution, when it took up arms against Moammar Gadhafi, the port city became a bellwether for the direction of Libya. At the head of the two governments that currently claim authority in Libya stand two figures from Misrata. Where Misrata goes, the rest of the country will follow.
Libya's Rising Power Struggle
Further escalation appears to be the path of least resistance. While a critical mass of actors favors a negotiated solution that would sideline both Dbeibah and Bashagha, there is currently no forum for talks. The U.N. has lost the initiative to Egypt, which is hosting negotiations between Libya’s two legislative bodies on a legal framework for elections.
Libya Is the Latest Sign of Never-Ending Chaos for Governments
So rather than being exotic as it used to be, Libya — with its now serially delayed election, proxy interventions, rival puppet leaders and fragmented institutions — has become completely mundane. Like the now seemingly never-ending Ukraine crisis or infinite rounds of fallout from Brexit, the latest developments in Libya are reminders of what I call in my book the Global Enduring Disorder.
At the UN, a Power Game Over Resolutions
The United Nations Security Council is meant to be the place where intractable conflicts can be resolved.As a member of an expert panel reporting to the Security Council on Libya, I saw firsthand how international politicking can make or break the resolutions that matter most — and how great powers prioritize their own ambitions over peace.
Libya’s History Spawns a Living Nightmare
Reflecting on 10 years after the Libyan revolution, Mohammed Alnaas writes about the time he almost died, living in a constant state of paranoia, taking refuge in fiction — and why he was convinced he was going to be kidnapped from Amsterdam.
On the Screen, Libyans Learned About Everything but Themselves
From California to Cairo, none of the films that featured my country, Libya, could step out of an Orientalist vision of camels, belly dancers, an endless desert and, of course, our iconic “Brother Leader.”
Today’s Libya Won’t Be Easy For Gadhafi’s Son
In the final years of Moammar Gadhafi’s rule, tensions between the autocrat’s two most prominent sons embodied the key ideological question of how — and if — governance ought to be reformed. The ferocious rivalry contributed to the regime’s disjointed response to the 2011 uprisings — and helped bring about its end.