The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed comments on the MENA region's most significant issues and trends. Today, we turn the spotlight on the recent clashes in Tripoli and the attempt by parliament-backed Prime Minister Bashagha to install himself and his cabinet in Libya’s capital.
The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed insights on the most significant developments in the MENA region, bringing together unique opinions on the topic and reliable foresight on future scenarios. Today, we turn the spotlight on the French withdrawal from Mali, a pivotal moment for the future of the Sahel and North Africa region.
The MED This Week newsletter provides expert analysis and informed comments on the MENA region’s most significant issues and trends. Today we turn the spotlight on Libya, where the Tobruk Parliament’s move to nominate a new prime minister has reopened divisions between rival factions, raising fears of renewed instability in the fragile country.
Bashagha viene eletto premier mentre Dbeibah, sostenuto dall’Onu, rifiuta di dimettersi. Ma la crisi politica in realtà nasconde una lotta di potere.
A due giorni dal voto arriva l’ufficialità: le elezioni in Libia non si faranno. Erano in pochi a crederci ancora. E l’ombra di un vuoto di potere si allunga minacciosa sul paese.
For Libya, 2021 will end with the betrayed hope of a change of course. The now postponed elections can only be the first step of a bigger transition.
A otto giorni dalle elezioni in Libia regna il caos e le milizie minacciano le istituzioni. Se il voto non è stato ancora ufficialmente rinviato, nessuno crede che si possa svolgere come previsto.
The contest over who gets to decide Libya’s transition has long been fought on two levels, the domestic and international ones. While Libyan politicians and personalities have been known to deftly play international actors to advance their goals, international influence over Libya has swelled to such an extent that foreign states can now choose to keep Libya at peace, or plunge it into war, and are dealing to decide Libyan elections.
Libya’s troubled and halting progress toward planned presidential elections on December 24th has underscored the recurring affliction of armed groups’ linkages to political elites. Throughout the post-2011 period, national-level elections—most notably the 2012 elections for Libya’s national legislature, the General National Congress—have been seen by international actors as mechanisms for producing the necessary political legitimacy and consensus to jump start the dismantling of armed groups and the reform and unification of the security sector.
Libya is situated in the North African region with climatic conditions that are influenced by the Mediterranean Sea in the north and the Sahara Desert in the south; resulting in abrupt weather transitions[1]. Libya is considered the world’s ninth country in terms of oil reserves[2]. Over 90 percent of its source of water originates from fossil groundwater aquifers. In addition, the country doesn’t have any rivers, while the surface run-offs are considered limited due to low rainfall rate.
It is possible to define the modern political history of Libya as a compromise. A compromise that began during the Idris monarchy which decided to come to terms with Western nations, and that continued between the king and the country's tribal realities. During Gaddafi's devastating 42-year regime, the rais leveraged favoritism, corruption, and atavistic hatreds to keep his citizens together, giving nothing in return if not an artificial, hyper-centralized state body for the benefit of a small elite, and one that obviously could not survive him.