P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y | W o o d r o w W i l s o n S c h o o l | 11
BACKGROUND Libya’s interlinked political, security, and
Without the emergence of a clear leader
economic crises originate in forces unleashed
among European states willing to champion a
by the fall of Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi that have
unified approach, each took action to protect
since acquired a powerful sustaining logic of
and advance its own interests. For example,
their own. Contestation over Libya’s oil and
Italy has prioritized addressing migration
gas rents and smuggling networks has
issues, leading it to target support to the
fractured
sector,
western part of the country due to the
undermined its fragile economic and financial
presence of many migrant routes there.
institutions,
deep-seated
Disunity among the European powers has
political dysfunction. In the west — home to
allowed Libyan actors to find sympathetic
the majority of Libyans — a fragmented militia-
international
state prevails in which the internationally-
international legitimacy and diplomatic cover;
backed Government of National Accord (GNA)
one example is French support for Khalifa
depends on an array of feuding armed
Haftar. Competitive intra-European political
factions.
would-be
dynamics have exacerbated this problem, with
strongman, Khalifa Haftar, aspires to impose a
Italy and France both seeking to take a
new security state modeled after Egypt.
leadership role on Libya to demonstrate
However, he sits atop a fractious coalition of
primacy on EU-Mediterranean issues.
the
In
country’s
and
security
produced
Libya’s
east,
a
ancien-régime military figures and Salafists. Exploiting these circumstances are a multitude of extremists, profiteers, smugglers, and other spoilers. (See Figure 2, p. 38) International
In this context, Libya’s internal dynamics rapidly became dominated by the conflict between Gulf powers, with Qatar and Turkey supporting militia groups in the west while the
ongoing crisis have been undermined by a
funding, arms, and personnel to support
combination
proxy
Haftar in the east. Egypt’s imperative to
interventions and international inattention.
protect its border and prevent the emergence
There
that
of an Islamist regime means they will not
European powers did not uphold their
accept a solution that fails to protect their core
commitment to support state-building efforts
interests.
wide
mitigate
provide
United Arab Emirates and Egypt have provided
of
to
who
Libya’s
is
efforts
sponsors
competitive
acknowledgement
in the aftermath of the 2011 intervention.
