1. Libya's year zero: Finding opportunity as a country rebuilds
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Economist Intelligence Unit
- Abstract:
- Libya's rebels have pushed the regime of Muammar Qadhafi out of power, and are poised to take complete control of the country. This in itself is a monumental achievement, but it marks only the start of what is likely to be a long and fraught process of rehabilitation. The new leadership must rebuild a state that for decades was run on the whims of an authoritarian leader, determined both to monopolise and to hold on to power. There are few institutions that work, and even fewer that work to the benefit of the general population, so the challenge amounts to little short of building a functioning state from scratch. Views on what form that state should take are as diverse as the regional, ideological and sectarian interests making up its would-be architects, and these stake holders must be persuaded to support the process — or at least not to obstruct it — before it can even begin.
- Topic:
- Development, Oil, Political Economy, and Regime Change
- Political Geography:
- Libya, Arabia, and North Africa