Libya after Gaddafi
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Authoritarian reinstatement in the Arab world
Whatʹs left of the Arab Spring
Not much remains of the euphoric mood and the hopes that drove the Arab Spring. A return to pre-2011 conditions is however out of the question. Commentary by Loay Mudhoon
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Internecine struggles
Libyaʹs free for all
Libya is today the scene of political chaos that is difficult to fathom from the outside. Two governments, one in the west and one in the east, are fighting for supremacy. And even within the power blocs there are military conflicts between the different militias. By Karim El-Gawhary
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Khalifa Haftar's role in the Libyan civil war
The fight against political Islam
The news that General Khalifa Haftar had been rushed to the military hospital in Paris on 5 April 2018 for the treatment of a serious health problem caused a variety of reactions in Libya: shock and anxiety on one side; jubilance and rejoicing on the other. To his supporters, he is the "Saviour of Libya"; to his adversaries, the "new Gaddafi". Farag Al Esha provides a portrait of this controversial figure
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Tyranny in the Islamic world
Keeping the tribe alive
In this essay, Libyan author Faraj Alasha explains how Arab autocrats use tribal logic to run institutions of state, turning political parties into family clubs and loyalty to the country into loyalty to the head of the ruling clan
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Interview with Libyan author Hisham Matar
″You can't turn back the clock″
London-based author Hisham Matar writes about the disappearance of his father, a member of the Libyan opposition who was kidnapped while exiled in Cairo and has never been seen since. In ″The Return″, Matar describes his own fruitless search to trace his father and Libya′s brief moment of hope following the fall of Gaddafi. Interview by Claudia Mende
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Resolving the crisis in Libya
Another fine mess
How to resolve the conflict in Libya remains one of the most difficult and important questions facing policy-makers today. Given the complex attitudes towards foreign interventions on the ground, we need a clear strategy that will stand up to local, regional and international scrutiny. By Alison Pargeter
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Libya
The Gulf States′ proxy war: Baiting at a distance
Of the civil wars ravaging the Arab world, the one Westerners hear least about may yet prove the most dangerous: Libya. Commentary by Joseph Hammond and Suhaib Kebhaj
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Libya′s Great Man-Made River irrigation project
The eighth wonder of the world?
Inaugurated by Libya′s former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, the Great Man-Made River was celebrated as a huge technological achievement. Yet the world′s largest irrigation project is not without its critics. By Moutaz Ali
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Tuareg fusion
Desert cats
"Passionate about the Tuareg" see themselves as cultural ambassadors. The musical project is the result of co-operation between two bands – one from southern Tunisia and the other from the Libyan Sahara. What unites them is a desire to revive the musical heritage of their forefathers through modern re-interpretation. By Valerie Stocker
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Civil war in Libya
Forever at loggerheads
After one year in office, Libya′s Government of National Accord is on the verge of collapse. While its ministers are trying to maintain order in the capital, the armed opposition is challenging them for strategic positions. At the same time, the government is involved in a proxy war with the East Libyan army. Valerie Stocker reports from Tripoli
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Book review: Hisham Matar′s ″The Return″
A painful void
In his new memoir, "The Return", the writer Hisham Matar confronts the ghosts of his past: the disappearance of his father, the expropriation of his country's history and the shattered dream of a new Libya. Claudia Kramatschek read the book
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Libya, Al Koni and the Skhirat Agreement
A fatal blow
If the Skhirat Agreement (LPA) is not quickly and substantially amended to allow a new executable agreement to be reached, its end will have been written from within its own chapters. By Azza K. Maghur