The need to understand Libyan foreign policy is never more pressing as Tripoli sheds off its pariah image and as its eccentric leader presses on with his programme of African continental unification as he heads up the African Union. However Libyan foreign policy has been an enigma. Indeed senior Arab journalist Ghassan Chebel has noted that Libyan politics can provide the most seasoned observer with the mother of all surprises.
Whilst several studies exist on Libyan foreign policy or Libyan politics none is as comprehensive as this penetrating study by Yehudit Ronen who seamlessly combines the domestic and foreign realms indicating how each impact on the other. In this authoritative study of Qaddafi’s Libya in World Politics, Ronen provides us with a sweeping overview replete with penetrating insights covering the ascendance of Qaddafi to power on 1 September 1969, his relations with the United States; the Soviet Union; inter-Arab relations; his quest for unity and leadership in Africa; and finally the rise of his son Saif al-Islam, together with the reformist bloc around him consisting of the likes of Foreign Minister ‘Abd al-Rahim Shulqam and Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem. In addition to its comprehensiveness, another aspect of this book which makes it unique is the fact that it is largely based on Libyan and other primary Arab sources. This study therefore provides to the reader a unique insider-outsider perspective of Libyan foreign policy.
Immediately following the 1969 revolution, Libyan foreign policy was informed largely by ideological, political and emotional affiliations. Buoyed by its huge oil reserves and the charismatic personality of its leader, Tripoli’s foreign policy became ever more grandiose. However given the ideological straitjacket (anti-West, anti-Israel, pan-Arab and now pan-African) in which Libyan foreign policy largely functioned, this resulted in more reversals than success for Tripoli. Qaddafi’s alliance with the Soviet Union to balance out the growing hostility from Washington and certain Arab states only resulted in Libya being caught up in the maelstrom of East-West relations which resulted in the US to designate Libya as a threat to its interests in the region and beyond as well as earning the further ire of pro-Western Arab states. Moreover, its strategic dependence on the Soviet Union was to present the Qaddafi regime with a major crisis following the USSR’s disintegration.
In this time of crisis, and unable to change his ideological approach to foreign policy making, it was left to Saif al-Islam to steer Libyan foreign policy in the post-Cold War environment. Guided by more pragmatic national interest considerations, Saif al-Islam and his team of reformists successfully reoriented Libyan foreign policy along more pro-West lines. The settlement of the Lockerbie dispute, coming clean on its past nuclear ambitions and various economic initiatives to take Libya’s moribund economy away from its socialist underpinnings was all part of this process.
It is important to note that ideological considerations have not been eliminated in Libyan foreign policy; rather it is being used in more traditional ways by using ideology to further the national interests of the Libyan state. Consider Qaddafi’s United States of Africa vision and his quest for African leadership. Ideologically it fits into his pan-African perspective. However it also served to rehabilitate Libya in that Qaddafi successfully mobilized African diplomatic support to press for the lifting of UN-imposed sanctions.
Despite the success of Saif al-Islam in reorienting Libyan foreign policy along more pragmatic lines, it is not certain whether the reforms will hold. In authoritarian political systems, personalities often matter more than institutions and policies and one can hardly predict the future of Saif al-Islam in Libya’s labyrinthine politics. As Yehudit Ronen notes, it is still not clear whether Qaddafi will follow in the footsteps of Syria’s Hafiz al-Asad and bequeath Libya’s leadership to his son.
Ronen’s book is a veritable tour de force and a must read to all who seek to understand Libya in world politics as the regime prepares to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the revolution in 2009.
Hussein Solomon
Department of Political Science
University of PretoriaRepublic of South Africa |
