Exploiting Anarchy: Violent Entrepreneurs and the Collapse of Libya's Post-Qadhafi Settlement

Little more than a year ago a knowledgeable observer heralded Libya as a 'potential beacon of the Arab transition' (Wehrey, 2013, p. 121). Macro-social factors such as ethno-religious homogeneity, ample oil revenues and robust infrastructure suggested a less contentious transition than exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mediterranean politics (Frank Cass & Co.) 2014-09, Vol.19 (3), p.463-470
Main Author: DeVore, Marc R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Al Qadaffi, Muammar
Arabs
Army
Authoritarianism
Civil war
Coalitions
Conflict
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurship
Government
Homogeneity
Infrastructure
Libya
Petroleum
Political instability
Political violence
Prediction
Qaddafi, Muammar el
Regime transition
Revolution
Revolutions
Stability
State
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Summary:Little more than a year ago a knowledgeable observer heralded Libya as a 'potential beacon of the Arab transition' (Wehrey, 2013, p. 121). Macro-social factors such as ethno-religious homogeneity, ample oil revenues and robust infrastructure suggested a less contentious transition than experienced elsewhere. Nevertheless, Libya's equilibrium collapsed in May 2014, precipitating armed conflicts between those political and military forces that toppled Qadhafi. The contrast between Libya's current strife and prior predictions of a smooth transition led many to question what went wrong. Rather than play down the factors that should have contributed to stability, I argue that two dynamics catalysed Libya's descent into civil war. First, the nature of Libya's 2011 revolution meant that the forces that triumphed over Qadhafi were a loose coalition, rather than a monolithic army. This would not have been fatal without the second dynamic-the rise of violent political entrepreneurs. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:1362-9395
1743-9418
DOI:10.1080/13629395.2014.966962