Gaddafi Era After originally rising to power through a military ''
coup d'état'' in 1969, Colonel
Muammar Gaddafi's governance of Libya became increasingly centric on the teachings of his
Green Book, which he published in the mid-1970s chapter by chapter as a foundation for a new form of government. This
jamahiriya, as he called it, was supposedly a form of
direct democracy in which power was balanced between a
General People's Congress, consisting of 2,700 representatives of
Basic People's Congresses, and an executive
General People's Committee, headed by a
General Secretary, who reported to the prime minister and the president. However, Gaddafi retained virtually all power, continuing to operate and control vestiges of the military junta put in place in 1969. Gaddafi's authoritarian rule, a transition from the former monarchical structure, aligns with Samuels' finding that most military coups spark change from one form of non-democratic government to another. Gaddafi acted as a
military/
personalist leader during his 42-year reign, nearly tripling the average ruling length of 15.1 years for this regime type, as found by political scientist
Barbara Geddes in her 1999 publication. Still, Gaddafi's regime did follow many of the military/personalist tropes that Geddes outlined: failing after its leader's death, relying on unstable personal networks to rule, and facing military opposition during the reign. As an oil-rich state with an abundance of petro-dollars, Gaddafi's rule did not require political appeasement from citizens, since the government derived means of power through oil wealth. The first human rights report against the Gaddafi Foundation was submitted in 1999 in hopes of immediate reform. Unfortunately, reports were periodically submitted over the following 10 years, with a notable Human Rights Watch report in December 2009, and ultimately intensified repression from Gaddafi's regime. Namely, in response to the 2009 report, Gaddafi banned all civil society organizations, closed newspapers, and arrested journalists speaking out against the regime's corruption and abuse of its citizens. Apart from being an oil economy, Gaddafi's shallow state constructed weak governance capacity within security structures, institutions, and bureaucracy. Overall, Gaddafi exemplified the strategy of systemically overpowering opposition and obstructing civil society formation, and his repressive rule allowed for him to deconstruct state structures and security, forcing the state to be rebuilt after his downfall.
Crisis and civil war The
Libyan revolt of 2011 that ultimately ended Gaddafi's reign was partially inspired by both Tunisia and Egypt's attempted
democratization, demonstrating the
neighborhood effect: a theory that postulates countries will be influenced by their neighbors when adopting regime types. The political divide and pressure from groups with differing religious, regional, or ethnic affiliations and goals for the country contributed to the overthrow of Gaddafi, as well as the collapse of the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in 2011, an economic model which rejects capitalism and favors a stateless and socialist society.
National Transitional Council Political parties were banned in Libya from 1972 until the removal of Gaddafi's government, and all elections were nonpartisan under law. However, during the revolution, the
National Transitional Council (NTC), a body formed on 27 February 2011 by
anti-Gaddafi forces to act as the "political face of the revolution", made the introduction of multiparty democracy a cornerstone of its agenda. In June 2011,
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said his father would agree to internationally monitored general elections, and would step down if he lost them, but his offer was refused in face of the Resolution 1970, which referred Gaddafi, his family, and his security entourage to the International Criminal Court as a result of war crimes and crimes against humanity. On 8 March, the NTC issued a statement in which it declared itself to be the "sole representative all over Libya". The council formed an interim governing body on 23 March. As of 20 October 2011, with the support and protection of NATO, the NTC captured Muammar Gaddafi, where he was subsequently killed in a cross-fire. Ghoga later confirmed that Libya will continue to adhere to all international agreements to which it was signatory prior to the uprising. The National Transitional Council only possessed moral, legal, and ethical authority, while Libya's opposing militias had access to a large supply of arms and local networks. This deepened the loyalties of many localities with the militias, ultimately granting these militias as de facto political authority. On 7 July 2012 an election was held for the
General National Congress (GNC) to replace the NTC. There were 2,501 candidates for the 200 seats – 136 for political parties and 64 for independent candidates. About 300 candidates' views were considered unacceptable and removed from candidates list, suspected of sympathizing with the defeated forces of the Jamahiriya. Accreditation centers have also been organized in European cities with larger Libyan communities like Berlin and Paris, in order to allow Libyan nationals, there to cast their vote. On 8 August 2012 the NTC officially dissolved and transferred power to the General National Congress. Libya is divided into two rival governmental authorities in the years following Gaddafi's overthrow. The governmental authorities include the Islamist-led
General National Congress (GNC) and its militia coalition the Libya Dawn, which is based in Tripoli, and the
House of Representatives in Tobruk, with its military coalition named Operation Dignity. Although, it is vital to note that these militias held military power independently of the authorities to which they claimed loyalty. As a result, outbreaks of violence continued across the region, as governments could not convince their militias to allow a state-imposed monopoly on violence.
General National Congress The General National Congress (also translated as
General National Council The General National Congress was composed of 200 members of which 80 were elected through a
party list system of
proportional representation, and 120 were elected as
independents in
multiple-member districts. Although it claimed a provisional sort of sovereign authority over Libya, the General National Congress was not permitted to take actions like those of a true sovereign and legitimate state; General National Congress did not have Weberian monopoly of force and could not enforce many of its said plans of action. Although, at the time, no other political body had clearly claimed to possess authority to govern Libya. The executive branch was appointed by the GNC and led by the
prime minister, Fayez-al-Sarraj, while the president of the GNC was the
de facto head of state, though not explicitly described as such in the Declaration. The main responsibility of the GNC was to form a
constituent assembly which would write Libya's permanent constitution, for approval by a
referendum. The GNC was unable to choose how this assembly would be elected until they brought the amendment to the Temporary Constitutional Declaration, a document serving as a temporary constitution during the transitional period post-Gadhafi. Accordingly, the GNC decided the method of direct elections to be more efficient in creating this assembly, as they believed it would also please federalist rivals like the House of Representatives, and create progress in the political process. While elections were held and lawmakers took office, the former General National Congress rejected the results and
reconvened in opposition to the new parliament, which now meets in the
eastern Libyan city of
Tobruk. The control that the House of Representatives has on the country's oil reserves has played a role in changing the dynamic of Libya's politics, especially since the General National Assembly has the right to sell the oil in states which legitimize it as Libya's sole government. However,
Islamists fared poorly in the low-turnout elections, and members of the Islamist-led GNC reconvened in August 2014, refusing to recognize the new parliament dominated by
secularist and
federalist lawmakers. Libya Dawn, the militia coalition of the New General National Congress swiftly seized control of Tripoli, Libya's constitutional capital, forcing the newly elected parliament of the House of Representatives into virtual exile in Tobruk, near the
Egyptian border. However, The House of Representatives enjoys widespread international recognition as Libya's official government, and controls the Libyan National Army. Against this backdrop of division, the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and
Ansar al-Sharia, as well as other militant groups both religious and tribal in nature, have seized control of several cities and districts across Libya, especially in
Cyrenaica, which is theoretically under the control of the Tobruk-based government. A number of commentators have described Libya as a
failed state or suggested it is on the verge of failure.
Attempts for unity Due to the civil unrest between the two parliaments, the GNC and House of Representatives rejected around seven proposals of a power-sharing transitional constitution. In early December 2015 both parliaments, the GNC and the House of Representatives, agreed a declaration of principles calling for the formation of a joint ten-person committee to name an interim prime minister and two deputies, leading to new elections within two years. As a result, the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) was adopted on December 13, 2015. The
House of Representatives would continue to exist as a
legislative power, including the authority to approve ministerial cabinet proposed by the GNA, and importantly, the authority to activate the LPA. disputes between which continuing until the formation of the GNU in 2015. Still, even with the establishment of this governmental structure, widespread human rights abuses exist throughout the country to this day; this is due to the lack of a central government to regulate the ten years of conflict that ensued after Gaddafi's reign. However, the country has made some "democratic" progress:
Libya's score was trending upwards from 2011 to 2013 on the PolityIV authority trends scale, increasing from a -7 to a 1, shifting its categorization from "
autocracy" to "
anocracy." On March 2021, the interim
Government of National Unity (GNU), unifying the
Second Al-Thani Cabinet and the
Government of National Accord was formed, only to face new opposition in
Government of National Stability, until
Libyan Political Dialogue Forum assured the ongoing ceasefire. == Political parties and elections ==