Open AccessThe Protracted Civil War in Libya: The Role of Outside Powers
Author(s) -
Yahia H. Zoubir
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
insight turkey
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.157
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 2564-7717
pISSN - 1302-177X
DOI - 10.25253/99.2020224.01
Subject(s) - spanish civil war , political science , political economy , optimism , democracy , foreign policy , development economics , law , sociology , politics , economics , psychology , social psychology
The collapse of the Muammar Qaddafi regime was ostensibly the prelude to a democratic Libya. The 2012 election elicited much optimism. By 2014, the domestic situation had taken an unexpected turn for the worse, resulting in two governments, one in the east and one in the west, each supported by numerous militias. While the civil war has pitted Libyans against Libyans, foreign interventions on behalf of opposite side in the conflict have hindered the end of the civil war. Indisputably, foreign interference had begun well before the civil war; however, the military backing to the protagonists has become more pronounced since 2014. The foreign powers involved in the Libyan conflict aim to fulfill specific interests, some of which deriving from the rivalries between those countries. Unless those foreign powers have achieved their goals in Libya, an end to the civil war anytime soon remains unlikely, occasional ceasefires notwithstanding.