Libya’s escalating war is changing political realities, necessitating a new framework for conflict resolution and power sharing.
Tarek Megerisi is a political analyst and researcher who specialises in politics, governance and development in the Arab World. Based out of London, he has worked as a consultant on Libya's transition with various NGOs, collaborating with a range of international experts on issues of democratization and constitutionalism to directly assist Libya's new institutions. He left the Sadeq Institute, Libya's first independent think tank where he worked as a research fellow for Political Affairs, in 2014 to work as a freelance analyst advising international bodies on foreign policy toward Libya. He publishes research papers on Libyan issues from property rights to the 2011 revolution and commentates on Libyan developments for various publications, such as Foreign Policy magazine. Tarek has an M.A. from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
Libya’s escalating war is changing political realities, necessitating a new framework for conflict resolution and power sharing.
Ghassan Salamé’s action plan for Libya faces numerous obstacles from entrenched political elites, who see it as just another venue in which to seek personal gain.
Russia’s support for Khalifa Haftar in the name of countering terrorism could instead escalate Libya’s conflict and undermine the UN-sponsored political process.
Libyans and their international partners can unite against the Islamic State, but external political and military engineering is undermining the prerequisite nation building.
If European policymakers want to help stabilize and reorient Libya, they should recall the lessons of the five years since the country’s 2011 revolution.
New General National Congress elections will not solve the fundamental and structural flaws in Libya’s transitional system.