3.1 - Libya

Question 1

What was Libya’s GDP in 1977?

Answer 1

$11,000

Question 2

What did Libya’s oil wealth allow it to do?

Answer 2

Develop in a debt free manner

Question 3

What successes came out of Gaddafi’s rule?

Answer 3

• Equality between men and women
• laws regarding equal access to education and wages (1970)
• GMMR (largest irrigation project in world)

Question 4

When did Gaddafi rule?

Answer 4

1969 - 2011

Question 5

What forms can military aid take?

Answer 5

• Direct and indirect military action
• Peacekeeping missions
• No fly zones

Question 6

What forms can economic intervention take?

Answer 6

• Providing or withdrawing economic aid
• imposing embargoes and sanctions
• SAPs (eg, deregulation, privatisation)

Question 7

What controversies were there during Gaddafi’s rule?

Answer 7

• significant portion of income was spent on arms
• sponsored terror groups, eg. IRA, Anti-Zionist, Pan-Africanist, Black Civil Rights movements
• Death of PC Fletcher (caused UK to sever ties in 1984)
• Lockerbie bombing (1988)

Question 8

What started the first Libyan Civil War?

Answer 8

• Arab Spring protests in Tunisia
• resulted in protests in Benghazi
• army repression used to justify intervention

Question 9

How was economic intervention done in the 1st Libyan Civil War?

Answer 9

• UN froze Gaddafi’s assets

Question 10

How was military intervention done in the 1st Libyan Civil War?

Answer 10

• Creation of no fly zone in March (UN resolution)
• NATO bombing of military targets

Question 11

When was the 2nd Libyan CIvil War?

Answer 11

(2014 - 2020)

Question 12

Who was the successor to Gaddafi?

Answer 12

NTC - National Transition Council
- Were supported by West
- recognised by UN as government of Libya in September 2011

Question 13

What happened after the 1st Libyan Civil War?

Answer 13

2011 - 2014
- major unrest
- NTC was weak, resulting in factional fighting
- collapse of oil exports

Question 14

What was Libyas GDP ranking in 2010?

Answer 14

64th globally
- above world average

Question 15

What caused the 2nd Libyan Civil War?

Answer 15

• 2014 elections were contested
• GNC and HoR disagreed over election results after Supreme Court nullified amendments regarding Libya’s transition and HoR elections
• Khalifa Haftar of Libyan National Army (HoR ally) launched attacks on Benghazi
• accused PM of being influenced by Islamist groups

Question 16

What would have prevented the 2nd Libyan Civil War from happening?

Answer 16

• Longer presence in country by intervening forces
• GNC could not provide security in country
• GNC could not control militias and militant groups from revolution
• This allowed Al Qaeda to establish a presence in the country, taking over anti-terrorist training bases

Question 17

What is the GNA?

Answer 17

• Government of National Accord
• Democratically elected in 2012, took power from NTC
• Mostly moderate and liberal
• Few representatives of Islamist parties
• However, managed to pass bills enforcing Sharia law
• strong anti-Gaddafi stance
• passed bills preventing anyone from former Gaddafi government taking any role in governing Libya

Question 18

What is the HoR?

Answer 18

• House of Representatives
• are backed by LNA
• are allied with Gaddafi loyalists
• were elected in after 2014 elections as a legislative body
• rejected Libyan Supreme Court ruling that election was unconstitutional due to low turnout (18% vs 60% in first post-Gaddafi elections)
• said ruling was made at ‘gunpoint’ and that court was controlled by armed militias

Question 19

What role did the UN play in the 2nd Libyan Civil War?

Answer 19

• Allied with GNA
• helped push back LNA from advancing into Tripoli

Question 20

Who intervened militarily in the 2nd Libyan Civil War?

Answer 20

• GNA (Turkey, Qatar, Sudan, Pakistan, Iran, Morocco, Algeria, EU, UK, US, UN)
• HoR (Egypt, UAE, Syria, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Greece, Cyprus, Israel)