Libya; Qadhafi; Ethnic conflict; North Africa; Warfalla; Tripoli; Benghazi
Issue Date
2017-02
Publisher
한국중동학회
Citation
한국중동학회논총, v. 37, No. 3, Page. 77-114
Abstract
In 2011, after demise of Muammar Qadhafi who controlled his country for almost 42 years as an absolute dictator, Libya gained momentum to welcome new epoch and new leadership. But immediately Libya was faced to unsolved conflicts and turmoils due to regional and ethnic rivalries together with military interferences of outside powers. Now in Libya three different governments backed by independent military units compete each other to gain final central authority. Consequently political and local elites were locked in severe contestation over shares of power and resources. Accordingly regional and ethnic problems deeply involve in chaos and division of the country as a pivotal factor. In fact, throughout recent history of Libya, regionalism, ethnicity and tribalism have evolved over the centuries initially in response to outside powers more recently to internal problems. The first efforts to extend central government authority, introduced during the Ottoman era, were continued through the Qadhafi era and fueled significant conflicts between ethnic groups. In the wake of the 2011 revolution that destroyed what little remained of state institutions, ethnic and armed groups stepped in to fill the vacuum. This gave rise to chance of the return of leaderships built on traditional and ethnic legitimacies as well as the emergence of new forms of political activism(.Libyans strongly prefer to a security and justice system provided by the state and pursue the country being independent of ethnic influence. Nontheless a significant minority see ethnic leaders as effective security providers, perhaps because state providers have not been effective. In this circumstance, this paper is focussed to analyze the role and factor of diverse ethnic groups in the contemporary Libyan conflicts.