Realizing the Complex Nature of the Libyan Crises

In the milieu of ‘Arab Spring’, the protests against the Libyan President Qaddafi instantly turned into a full-scale civil war. Although Qaddafi tried to crush the activists through military means but failed as he was suddenly crammed by the internal/ external forces. The western lobby did not even wait for the United Nations (UN) approval and employed its forces against his army, engaged with protestors. Qaddafi was not given a chance, even to surrender peacefully. Since 20 October 2011, when he was killed, the country remains involve in the civil war between the UN-backed Govt of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and its rival General Khalifa Haftar led, Libyan National Army (LNA). Consequent to the escalating military confrontation, the security situation in Libya has become too complex. The Egyptian-Saudi-Emirati alliance versus the Turkish-Qatari alliance are now part of the great game in Libya. There is also the Franco-Italian struggle alongside Russia’s anti-American agenda. Ankara’s support was critical to stabilizing the GNA in Tripoli against the mounting pressure from LNA. Despite the number of meetings held to tackle with the issue, the security state in Libya still remains uncertain due to lack of resolve by the key players. Thus, the Libyans’ dream for a democratic culture in the country seems off the table. In this study, ‘neorealism’ theory has been applied to understand the behaviour of the regional/extra-regional actors.