Corporate DispatchPro JOHN NAUDI
The unbroken promise of Libya ‘Democracy!... Stability!... Prosperity!’. These were a few of the buzz words used by many when the political uprisings and widespread protests erupted in 2011, known as the Arab Spring, and had shaken the entire North Africa region. History today tells us that the uprisings across the region did succeed in toppling the dictators in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. The reality however is that they have produced only modest political, social, and economic benefits for some of the region’s population. Only Tunisia has experienced a relatively peaceful uprising followed by some changes. Egypt’s uprising, on the other hand, failed miserably, resulting in a military coup. For many Maltese entrepreneurs, Libya was an automatic growth opportunity, a country which offered immense potential, and a country which many invested substantial amounts of time and money in developing. Business before the 2011 uprisings grew at a steady pace. Many believed that the country’s vision and leadership was changing with the potential of booming in the same way the UAE did a couple of decades before. When the uprisings started in Tunisia and Egypt, very few people believed that this could expand into Libya. Everyone was wrong! The 2011 NATO-led operation in Libya succeeded in removing Gaddafi. It failed to establish stable political institutions in the country. Libya steadily fell into conflict fuelled both by internal contradictions underlying the rivalry of various political-military forces as well as external interference by regional and international actors pursuing their own economic and politicalstrategic interests. Since then, hopes of democracy, stability, and prosperity have been elusive in Libya. In many respects, the country is considered a failed state that cannot exercise nation-wide
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