Libya's troubled present and uncertain future

Libya is in focus in this edition of U-talk. Our question comes from John from London who asks: “Nearly two and a half years after the fall of Gaddafi, Libya is still struggling to emerge from a period of chaotic transition. What is the current situation in the country?”

The response is from Dr. Saïd Haddad. He is a professor at the Research Centre School of Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan and responsible for the Libya section in the review L’Année du Maghreb.

“Two and a half years after the fall of the Gaddafi regime, the Libyan situation can be described as a delicate one. Indeed the Libyan leaders, or at least the political class that runs this country, are facing a number of challenges.

“The first point to emphasise is the weight of Gaddafi’s legacy. After 42 years of a strange and complex regime, everything has to be rebuilt in Libya. To do so, the Libyans wrote a roadmap which led to the election of a legislative assembly and to the establishment of a government (also resulting from these elections).

“However despite some progress, a number of problems still exist as far as security is concerned. Because of its weakness the army is struggling against militias which gained legitimacy during the revolution and have now become “institutionalised” in the political landscape.

“The internal insecurity creates a problem of external insecurity. Another problem is the question of oil. Let us hope that the election of the Constituent Assembly on February 20th will solve all these political and regional challenges and show the way forward for leaders to decide what Libya they want for the future: a unified, a decentralised or even a federal Libya?”

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