Regime Change in Libya since 1951 - Essay Example

? Regime change Introduction Regime change as defined by Collins dictionary (Collins English Dictionary,2009) is the transition from one political regime to another, especially through concerted political or military action. There are various types of regime changes. Regime changes can come about in three ways. The first one is the normal transition more so through elections, then secondly through coup de tat and finally through external forces Regime change in Libya since 1951 The general transition, which is characterized by democracy where by a new political regime comes into office after elections, usually involves changes in policy and ideology. Coup de tat involves forceful transition where a leader comes into office by overturning or rebelling against the government. In such a case, the leader has authority, but lacks legitimacy/ claim to his or her title. In most cases, regime changes towards an authoritarian regime are characterized by totalitarian actions which inhibit peoples’ freedoms (Goerman, et al., 2009). The other one involves external forces, which are characterized by external pressure from non governmental bodies such as the United Nations and NATO. The UN may pass into law interventions that are aimed to kick out a certain regime in a country (Gilligan & Sergenti, 2008). A good example is the global communities’ involvement in ousting the current regime in Syria, which is being accused of going against its peoples’ wishes and lacking legitimacy. Examples of significant regime changes across the globe include Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and even Syria. Political history of Libya Libya has a real distinct history, which dates back to the 16th century with the decline of the Berbers dynasties, to the takeover by the Turks, then the French, and then under Italy in 1912; up to the time they gained independence in 1951 (History World, 2012). During the Italian rule between 1914 and 1945, there was the introduction of fascism, which should be noted distinctively as a new method of administration of Libya back then. Italy appointed fascist governors who operated with extremes measures to the point of setting up concentration camps to subdue resistant from two major Libyan areas. Major regimes in Libya After the second world war, and under a United Nations resolution the three major regions of Tripolitania, Cyrenacia and Fezzan come together to form the present day Libya, under the leadership of King Mohammed Idris I. His term in the throne was a huge shift from the fascist rule embraced by Italy during the colonial period. His style of governance involved ruling Libya as an old fashioned monarch. This meant that democracy was thrown out of the window. This kind of rule was retrogressive to the economy of the region since the royalty used up most of the resources impoverishing the population. Eighteen years into his rule as king, King Mohammed was deposed in a bloodless military coup by the then twenty seven year old Muammur Gadaffi, a captain in the air forces. He immediately becomes the commander in chief of the armed forces. Gadaffi ruled Libya with a firm grip, creating a reputation of being a hard stance dictator who was very unpredictable, and the world over. He developed a philosophy which he used in governing Libya which he wrote in a book titled ‘The Green Book’ which was published in two volumes, one in 1978 and the other in 1980.The book highlighted a political philosophy based on Islam, Arab nationalism and socialism. Gadaffi’s reputation on the international stage suffered a significant blow due to his unpredictable nature. He was many times accused of supporting financially extremist groups across the globe. The use of Libya’s oil wealth in meddling in other countries affairs made the international community set up measures of controlling his influence. In April 1986, in his government’s commitment against international terrorism, Ronald Reagan the then president of the United States authorized airstrikes in Libya, against terrorist targets in Tripoli and Benghazi (nytimes, 1986). The United Nations in 1993 also approved sanctions against the Gadaffi regime (Collins, 2011). They placed an embargo on trade and air contact with Libya then followed by a ban on the sale of equipments needed for oil exploration in Libya. Gadaffi’s totalitarian government showed support for terrorist groups and terrorist activities against the western countries. In 1972, he declared that he supported the IRA in Northern Island, and there was also evidence that he funded Black Panther and the Nation of Islam activities in the United States of America (John, 2012). He was widely condemned during the Lockerbie air disaster of 1988 when he refused to hand over two Libyan citizens who were suspected of having planted explosives in the ill fated Pan Am airliner which exploded in Lockerbie, Scotland killing two hundred and fifty nine people on board. The Gadaffi regime was a significant part in the Libyan history as it characterized a period of almost full isolation by the international community as well as advanced social welfare policies for the citizens. Libya had the highest living standard in Africa before the civil unrest that deposed Gadaffi in 2011. With reference to the United Nations statistics, the country ranked fifty third on the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2010). The state provided citizens with free medical healthcare, and the life expectancy was at 74.5 years under the dictator with infant mortality at 17 deaths per 1000 births a complete contrast with other African countries that are at worse rates (UNDP, 2010). Regime Change in Libya in 2009; Foreign Imposed Regime Change It was believed by the international community, more so the USA; that the Libyan government under Moammar Gaddafi was a threat not only to Libyans but also to the world in general (Finkel, et al., 2007). According to the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) statement of February 26, 2011, widespread and systematic attacks took place in Libya leading to fears that it might lead to crimes against humanity (UNSC, 2011). The Security Council voted unanimously in support of intervention by the international community on behalf of the Libyan citizens. They intended on determining the way of governance for sovereign people, which could have interfered with all of the country’s systems and the way of life (Enterline & Greig, 2005). The United Nation Security Council (UNSC) as at then comprised of the following members, Colombia, Gabon, and Lebanon, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa, France, United Kingdom, Untied States, Brazil, Germany, India, China and Russia; as at February 26th 2011. Of the members in the council, all agreed except for Brazil, Germany, India, China and Russia. The American military support to the Libya intervention was officially motivated by the wish to avoid a ‘new Rwanda’, but it was certainly just as critical that Libya was perceived to be a relatively easy target (Bueno de Mesquita & George, 2006). For instance, when it comes to the case of intervention or rather military action, the members of the Security Council will always participate in the voting process. However, it has been keenly observed that during such a process decisions are mostly agreed upon in uniform (Downes, 2010). That is perhaps according to the report by the WFMC the ousting of Muhamar Gadaffi genuinely came from the a peaceful demonstration that had very different ideologies from those of Gaddaffi`s government. However, violence was not an exception due to resistance from his government. It is also noted that the “Arab spring” that took place in countries such as Syria, Yemen and others were also characterized by a backlash of violence (Collins, 2011). WFMC keenly noted that the June`s intervention of the international community in Libya was mainly in accordance to the application of the responsibility to protect the people of Libya especially from the then emerging political doctrine. However, concerns were raised based on key issues like permissiveness and ambiguity of the whole mission in regards to the Libyan crisis. The United Nations was also in full support of the Responsibility to protect terming it as an unambiguous move by the international community as a whole. In the wake of the acknowledgement of the duty to defend civilians from the Libyan government there were still fears with notions that some powerful states will always be using such moments to interfere with the sovereignty of weaker states in the near future claiming that such motives would in turn be adopted as a tradition by them, such lame reasons contributed to criticism by some states in action against the Libyan government (Hegre, et al., 2001). Effects of the change in regime The change in regimes from the Gadaffi error to the NTC was finalized after the capture and murder of the dictator on 20th October 2011. The National Transitional council took over governorship of the country with the aim of a transition towards a democratic nation with support from the UN. What the international community is eager to see is the successful transition, but a lot of questions linger as to the success of the intervention by the foreign bodies namely UN, NATO, France, Britain and the USA (Evans, 2011). The questions that remain to be answered are whether such means of a regime change is effective as to the prosperity of the nation (Richard, 2010). Do such interactions result in stable, peaceful societies or devolve into violence and civil war? What does history tell of previous interventions to initiate regime changes? The case of Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia paint a very bad picture of regime changes instituted by foreign bodies while on the other hand, cases of Germany and Japan contradict this statements (Bellamy, 2008). As of December 2012, there is still in unrest in Libya and with the most notable this year being the killing of the USA ambassador to Libya. The current regime is struggling with reducing the resistance posed by some loyalist of the previous leader, as well as the state of lawlessness in the southern part of the nation a case that can be attributed by change of regimes as stated by Bellamy (Bellamy, 2011). This has led to the temporary closure of the boundary in the southern section of the nation with Chad, Sudan, Niger and Algeria (The National, 2012) Bibliography: Bellamy, 2008. The Responsibility to Protect and the Problem of Military Intervention. International Affairs, 84(4), pp. 615-639. Bellamy, 2011. The Responsibility to Protect and the Problem of Regime Change. [Online] Available at: www.e-ir.info/?p=14350 [Accessed 30 Dec 2012]. Bueno de Mesquita, B. & George, D., 2006. Intervention and Democracy. International Organisation, 60 (3), pp. 627-649. Collins English Dictionary, 2009. Dictionary.com. [Online] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/regime%20change [Accessed 29 December 2012]. Collins, R., 2011. Thinking About Libya, the Responsibility to Protect and Regime Change: A 'Lessons Learned' Discussion Paper, Montreal: World Federalism Movement Canada. Downes, A. B., 2010. Catastrophic Success: Foreign Imposed Regime Change and Civil War, Durham: Duke University. Enterline, A. & Greig, M., 2005. Beacons of Hope? The Impact of Imposed Democracy on Regional Peace , Democracy and Prosperity. Journal of Politics, 67(4), pp. 1075-1098. Evans, G., 2011. Responding to Mass Atrocity Crimes: The Responsibility to Protect 'After Libya'. [Online] Available at: www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/public/Meeting%20Transcripts/061011 evans_q&a.pdf [Accessed 30 December 2012]. Finkel, Steven, E., Anibal, P.-L. & A, M., 2007. The Effects of U.S. Foreign Assistance on Democracy Building 1990-2003. World politics, 59 (3), pp. 404-439. Gilligan, M. & Sergenti, E., 2008. Do UN interventions cause peace? Using Marching to improve causal Inferences. Quarterly Journal of Political Science, 3(2), pp. 89-122. Goerman, E., Skrede, K. & Chiozza, G., 2009. Archigos. A Data Set on Leaders, Volume 2.9. Hegre, H., Ellingsen, T., Gates, S. & Petter, N., 2001. Toward a Democratic civil peace? Democracy, Political change and Civil War. Ameican Political Science Review, January, pp. 33-48. History World, 2012. History of Libya. [Online] Available at: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=aa83 [Accessed 30 December 2012]. John, B. S., 2012. Libya: From Colony to Revolution. revised ed. London: Oxford. Lindbo, H. B., 2011. Libya: Beyond Regime Change, Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies. nytimes, 1986. U.S. Jets Hit ’Terrorist Centers’ in Libya; Reagan Warns of New Attacks If Needed. [Online] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/15/politics/15REAG.html [Accessed 30 December 2012]. Richard, H., 2010. Enough is Enough. Newsweek, 1 February. The National, 2012. Libya's new rulers close borders to clamp down on lawlessness. [Online] Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/africa/libyas-new-rulers-close- borders-to-clamp-down-on-lawlessness [Accessed 30 December 2012]. UNDP, 2010. Human Development Indicators. [Online] Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/ [Accessed 30 December 2012]. UNSC, 2011. Security Council Press Statement on Libya. [Online] Available at: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sc10180.doc.htm [Accessed 30 12 2012]. Read More