Historical Preconditions of the Contemporary Crisis in Libya

Abstract

The article describes the events in Libya from 1943, when Libya was liberated from the control of Italy and divided into three occupation zones, to the first decade of the XXI century, the verge of “Arab Spring”, which triggered a civil war in that country. It especially focuses on the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya regime, which was overthrown together with its founder in 2011. The author shows that behind this regime, allegedly based on direct democracy, was not only the autocracy of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, but also political confrontation between representatives of different tribal clans, which escalated in 1991–1998, during the period of international embargo against Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The article also analyzes the main trends of Libyan foreign policy and internal conflicts that lead to the fall of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and the shocking death of Gaddafi.