In this post, I want to discuss the Arab Spring in the Libyan context. This Saturday, citizens in Libya voted in the first free election held in that country in 60 years. This is the first stage of a process that will eventually see a democratically elected civilian government in control of the country, a seemingly successful result which was made possible by the overthrow of former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya’s road to democracy began in February, 2011, with protests concentrated in the eastern part of the country. As these protests grew, so too did violent confrontations between civilians and the military. Soon, many members of the military began to defect, and a rebel military force was formed under the command of the National Transitional Council (NTC). After months of fighting, reports of attacks on civilians invited a UN intervention in the country, when the UN Security Council gave the NATO alliance permission to set up a ‘no-fly zone’ over Libya, ostensibly to protect civilians. This intervention turned the tide in the war, and allowed forces loyal to the NTC to take control of the country, leading eventually to the death of Gen. Gaddafi and the end of his regime.
As an outsider to the Libyan conflict, I must admit that the Libyan Revolution bore little resemblance to what it was that I had envisioned for the Arab Spring. Though populist in nature, this revolution was essentially a civil war, not a protest movement. Also, success for the ‘protesters’ was only achieved through a military intervention by Western military powers, in a move which will now undoubtedly be used as a justify the obscene military budgets of many NATO countries, particularly the USA. Also, though the regime of Muammar Gaddafi was non-democratic, prior to the revolution, Libya boasted a human development rating higher than many other countries in the region, and Libya’s human rights record, though mixed, was also better than that of many other North African countries.
Still, one cannot deny the fact that the Libyan revolution ended a dictatorial regime and has provided Libyans with rights and civil liberties that had been restricted under Gaddafi’s rule. While the success of this fledgling democracy is still unproven, the result of the Libyan revolution has been welcomed by many Libyans. So where does this leave the Arab Spring? Do the (seemingly) positive ends achieved in Libya’s ‘spring’ justify the arguably sordid means of its attainment? What are the implications of this outcome for future Western humanitarian interventions, especially in places like Syria (more on that later)?
I would love to hear what people have to say about this issue. Please comment.
Dan
Your last comment about Western humanitarian intervention really struck me. It could be argued this intervention by the West was for the suffering civilian populations, but why in Libya? Where is the engaged military intervention in Sudan? Or Zimbabwe? Or North Korea? I'm not promoting the idea of military intervention in humanitarian situations, but the fact that NATO interfered in this region makes their intentions questionable (was it about helping the civilians or their strategic alliance with the country).
ReplyDeleteIt's incredibly frustrating to see foreign policy come before humanitarian considerations. Frustrating, and disappointing.
Dannnn! I am glad that you choose to do a piece on the "Arab Spring", a movement that has polarized the Middle East and dominated international headlines over the last year and a bit. I can't help but feel that the term "Revolution" has been misused slightly to much by the media and am not sure how you feel about this. To be honest, all we have really seen take place thus far is a change of leadership in these countries. Gaddafi is gone, but Libya has been left in a state of total chaos, with the country's infrastructure decimated by NATO's 25,000 aerial bombing missions. Mubarak, who was really only a figurehead for the powerful military complex that has truly governed egypt for the last 30+ years, was ousted. What I mean to say is that when I think of revolutions, I think of the Haitian Revolution, one of the most famous slave rebellions in recent centuries, led by Toussaint Louverture, resulting in Haiti becoming the first free black republic, or Tupac Amaru in the revolt against the Spanish colonization of Peru, or even today and the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela :) !!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that Kevin mentioned the justification for NATO countries intervening in the Libyan conflict and I agree with him. Arguably, they choose to but their noses in like they always do, because of the immense strategic positioning that Libya boasts, being situated in Northern Africa and close to the Middle East. But also, due to the immense natural resource wealth in Libya. NATO did not intervene with the interests of Libyans at heart in the very least. They have immense fresh water reserves, some of the biggest on the continent, and significant oil reserves as well. Gaddafi was an influential Pan-African leader. He forged ties with many Sub-Saharan countries, and was a dear friend of the great Nelson Mandela. Ultimately, he held too many secrets about western governments, was a revolutionary thorn in their economic interests on the continent, and was on the verge of of introducing the Gold dinar as a new alternative reserve currency for African countries, to take the place of the US Dollar, a big no no.
Great post dan, your write well!