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MENASource

Jan 9, 2013

Libya’s Fractious New Politics

By Karim Mezran and Eric Knecht

Politics—defined here as the conflict of competing factions for power—did not meaningfully exist under the former Gaddafi regime. For some, the fact that they exist now, and in a rather lively fashion, is cause for optimism. However, the fact that they have become this fractious this fast, is cause for concern for many more. In […]

Libya

MENASource

Dec 21, 2012

The Troublesome Politics Behind Libya’s Southern Militarization

By Karim Mezran and Eric Knecht

 This past Sunday Libya’s legislative assembly, the General National Congress (GNC), made perhaps its boldest announcement to date: to seal off the southern border, declare the area a military zone, and appoint a military governor with full authority to arrest wanted criminals. Libya’s south has been plagued by drug smuggling, human and arms trafficking, and […]

Libya

MENASource

Nov 21, 2012

Appoint or Elect the Constitutional Committee of Libya?

By Karim Mezran and Duncan Pickard

Now that Libya’s General National Congress (GNC) has appointed and installed a government, its attention will turn to the selection of a committee to write a new constitution for the country. The fundamental question in this debate is whether or not the committee should be popularly elected or appointed by the GNC.Some in the eastern […]

Libya

Uncategorized

Nov 20, 2012

Libya’s Transition: The Current State of Play

By Jason Harmala

November 2012 Download PDF The Political Process Political Parties Issues of Concern Key People to Watch Economic Situation International Response Despite localized violence and continuing resistance to militia disbandment, Libya’s democratic transition is moving forward largely as planned. Elections for the 200-member General National Congress (GNC), Libya’s first free election in six decades, took place […]

Democratic Transitions Libya

MENASource

Nov 15, 2012

Bolstering the Constitutional Declaration to Strengthen Transitional Governance in Libya

By Duncan Pickard

The August 2011 constitutional declaration of the National Transitional Council provides the current legal framework for the transitional government, but the document is woefully vague and leaves far too much discretion in the hands of those who hold power. Since an entirely new interim constitution might be political unfeasible or require too much time, the […]

Libya

MENASource

Nov 9, 2012

An Alternative Hypothesis on the Benghazi Events

By Karim Mezran

While US officials debated and politicized this past September’s Benghazi incident, Libyans were often having, and continue to have, a markedly different conversation about who is behind ongoing violence. Though rogue militias and Salafists remain key culprits, a potentially greater force is often seen as playing a lead role: elements of the former Qaddafi regime. […]

Libya

Event Recap

Oct 23, 2012

Updates from the Ground: The Latest from Libya and Tunisia

By Jason Harmala

Having recently returned from trips to Libya and Tunisia, Rafik Hariri Center senior fellow Karim Mezran and non-resident fellow Duncan Pickard shared updates on the two countries’ respective transitions as part of a roundtable discussion on October 23. The talk was moderated by Hariri Center director Michele Dunne and touched on the latest developments in […]

Libya North Africa

MENASource

Oct 15, 2012

Diplomacy and Security in the Middle East: Finding the Balance Has Never Been Simple

By Richard LeBaron

Amidst the election year political posturing about who knew and said what when in regard to security precautions for our diplomats in Libya, we need to stop, take a deep breath, and figure out what went wrong and why.  And we need to come to grips with the fact that we can mitigate risk to […]

Libya Middle East

MENASource

Oct 11, 2012

The Dismissal of Abushagur and Libya’s Leadership Crisis

By Karim Mezran

The dismissal of prime minister-elect Mustafa Abushagur by the General National Congress (GNC) on October 7 came as a shock. Just days earlier, the prime minister had revealed his much-delayed list of cabinet nominees – an unwieldy twenty-five in total – to the congress and public at large. The proposed government was widely scorned, and […]

Libya

MENASource

Oct 5, 2012

The Case for an Interim Constitution in Libya

By Duncan Pickard

Who is in charge of Libya? Muhammad Magarief, the president of the General National Congress (GNC), spoke at the UN General Assembly as de facto head of state. Mustafa Abushughur, the prime minister–elect, is another good bet. An argument could even be made for the ghost of the disbanded National Transitional Council (NTC), whose 2011 […]

Libya
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