A History of Modern Libya

Dirk Vandewalle is one of only a handful of scholars to have frequently visited Libya over the last four decades. Here he tracks Libya's story from the 1900s to the Italian occupation in the early twentieth century, through the Sanusi monarchy and, thereafter, to the revolution of 1969 and the accession of Qadhafi. Chapters analyse the economics and politics of Qadhafi's revolution, offering insights into the man and his ideology as reflected in his Green Book. This updated edition includes coverage of the period 2003–2011, as Libya finally came in from the cold after years of political and economic isolation. The agreement to give up a weapons of mass destruction program paved the way for improved relations with the West. By this time, though, Qadhafi had lost support at home and, despite attempts to liberalize the economy, real structural reform proved impossible. This, coupled with tribal rivalries, regional division and a general lack of unity, paved the way for revolution and civil war.

Dirk Vandewalle is Associate Professor of Government at Dartmouth College. His publications include Libya since Independence: Oil and State-Building (1998) and, as editor, Libya since 1980: Qadhafi's Revolution Revisited (2011).