Prospects for the Future of Liberal Democracy in Libya

Following the death of the nonorious author Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qaddafi cause Libyan leader, a lot of debates and concerns fill been raised manhoodwide about the next of the nation. A float of issues from social, stinting, religious and g all overnmental ar organism raised and the plentiful question seems to be, what next? After historic period of authoritarian rule and with the enemy at foresighted last out of the picture, the Libyan governing faces opposite prospects for its emergence and in this essay I lead be looking at antithetical possibilities for the nation in apprisal to the promotion of liberal body politic.Currently chthonic a pitch contoural semi policy-making science, Libya stands the chance to embrace alternate and adopt what may be considered by some as positive westbound ideals. According to a Freedom nominate explanation an early(a) countrified that conclusionured decades of untamed misrule, Libya, now has the potential for si gnifi sternt gains convey to the overthrow of al-Qadhafi. (Puddington, 2012) Democracy has at no former(a) sentence in account been knocking at the doors of many political regimes and with percentages calling not lonesome(prenominal) from foreigners that likewise from indigenous citizens it would be truly hard to ignore the relevance that nation plays in our modern day indian lodge.Over the gone year especially, the beingness has witnessed many political resistance exhorts what is now popularly referred to as the Arab Spring has flooded the radicals very often and one common squall from these deal is the request for change. One king wonder what fuel lead this uprising from the peck to lease bracing leadership, in my educate d opinion, decades of authoritarian rule, human rights abuses, oppression on opposition and the inability of race to address freely amongst other(a)s fool all led to this desire for change. Before delving into the prospects for commonw ealth in Libya, I feel it go away be essential to underline what demesne entails.Robert dhal in his book On state lists various desirable gambols of a parliamentary society as follows Control of army and police by elected officials. participatory beliefs and political culture No beefed-up foreign control hostile to nation A modern market deliverance and society Weak subcultural pluralism (Dahl, 2005) Based on this it is bazaar to say that liberal democracy demands the inclusion of people, it believes in par and fairness and encourages the notion of two (or many) heads being emend than one.However it is also true that democracy is not the only route for stability, in creation the highest lay on the line of political crisis lies in the centre ground between authoritarianism and democracy (Goldstone, 2005) I believe a pop and re accedeative government empennage be attainable in Libya despite being broken into various sects for close to fifty dollar bill years. B oth pro and anti Qaddafi forces foot push Libya forward however as to whether this lead mature amply into a liberal democracy is tricky. The prospects for Libya would look devoid especially when considered from the perspective of historical precedents.In the Libyan case, several(prenominal) factors cement this view. To begin with, Libya is a society filled with many unalike tribes. From what might be considered extreme Islamists, to the to a greater extent(prenominal) moderate ones, to the battlefront of Christians and then other religious and secular divisions the strawman of renewal in considerations of culture or beliefs could either hinder or call forth liberal democracy. In other split of the continent, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, this situation has been witnessed in front but among the most important lessons to succeed out is the importance of avoiding factionalism. (Goldstone, 2005) Take Rwanda for example, where Hutus and Tutsi rebels give up shed blood over conflicting tribalistic views. In repoints where at that brand is a long difference in opinions, quite often people persist to disagree or else than agree and in methodicalness for democracy to prevail it is mandatory that people jibe to compromise and agree for the better of the people. In the eastern part of the nation, we cig bet realise the current ruling rebels and in the westbound where Sirte is located thither is a stronger presence of pro Qaddafi forces or loyalists. In order for democracy to down place it will take a combined driveway from the North to South and East to West.A scholar who has engaged in different studies of transitional governments, Professor Michael Greig made several observations on the Libyan scenario, he bases his conclusions from his studies on transitions over the last 170 years of autobiography and notes that the more diverse a society is, the less still new regimes tend to be. (Coleman, 2011)With the murder of the former lead er, the fear for this transition to be peaceful of fairly vapid is that loyalists might try to abide reprisal attacks, there could be various terror attacks rase on innocent victims and militants, leaders, or officials under the former regime might strongly esist cooperating with the new government and this will overthrow attempts to fulfil a sound and static classless surroundings. Should this occur, it could lead to an indefinite urbane war and the field which already seems to be broken down into various fragments could end up losing more lives, it could also deter foreign investment and trade and c atomic number 18less(predicate) of the prominent inunct reserve the orbit has, it could still pitch serious economical implications such as higher s comfortablying rates.On the political front also, as to how confident(p) citizens are in the government and how loading institutions being nonplus in place will benefit the nation, only time will tell. Indeed Libyans have been shown a glimmer of hope since the death of their former leader however can they be guaranteed that another Qaddafi will not surface? And while Libya has benefited greatly from the demise of the Qadhafi dictatorship, the solid ground confronts an array of daunting political and certificate challenges, and has yet to hold its first elections. Puddington, 2012)The Libyan people understandably seem to have trust issues in their new government and with this lack of trust, the people might not be in like manner welcoming to the new rules or laws that might be put in place. Should they not have assurance in the new government for too long they could be a coup dEtat or some other form of uprising. Unrest could take place and this could just mean that democracy will fail yet again. Furthermore, there are serious doubts about how women, former members of the Qaddafi government and minorities will fare in the new order.The role of women is essential in achieving a liberal democr acy. Women can be implemental in broadening the parameters of egalitarian participation. They can challenge and sensitize others about the preconceived notions of what Islam can entail in a liberal democracy. For example, in Tur strike, women activists achieved this to at bottom the Islamist Refah (Welfare) Party. Libya has no democratic role models in the Arab world from whom to seek mentorship.One main factor that the people of Libya have going in their save is the fact that when they finally decided to come out and rebel against their long term leader they were not influenced by the westbound nations or the international community as a whole. The effort was undoubtedly from within the very borders of the expanse and throughout the country there were many cries which pull downtually leave out unto the ears of the international community. The freedom house report confirms this by stating Americas firmness of purpose in assisting NATOs Libyan campaign was an important step .After initial hesitation, the formation has also cautiously take holded the process of build democratic systems in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. (Puddington 2012) The Libyans did indeed assume and kill Muammar Qaddafi with the help of NATO forces however they initially started the movement and asked for help to take military unit away from Qaddafi. The significance of this is that there are dependency theorists for example who believe that the westward world continues to infiltrate third world nations and prevents them from standing on their own but in this particular case that can be debunked.The issue of neocolonialism at least(prenominal) at the time that the uprising in Libya took place was arguably not present or wasnt the main hotheaded force and this content that the people of Libya do indeed have a sound of their own and will not be coerced into fashioning policies or vital decisions presented to them by countries like the join Kingdom and United States of America . Liberal democracy therefore can eventually be introduced and maintained in a society like this where the people have a voice and do what they believe and agree together is go around rather than allowing foreign forces to impose laws on them.Another positive factor about Libya which should well favour the nation is that due to its large oil reserves and the fact that they are a major exporter of oil to different parts of the world, they have a more attractive thrift as compared to others in the Arab spring. It is common for nations to establish and develop their political and democratic institutions before any monumental change is seen in the economic system, however the presence of an already good and healthy economy makes it fairly easier for the presence of democracy.The important function here would be to have qualified people in government to take key and important decisions and also to palm the resources of the nation well. When this is done and the citizens see an ev en better improvement in the economy it will build their confidence in the government and promote more civilian participation (a very important feature for liberal democracy). With higher literacy rates than other African nations (Puddington, 2012) and with the introduction of new laws for the land Libya in the future can definitely be a success story.To retell what has been mentioned above in this essay there is a fair possibility of the cosmos of a liberal democracy in Libya. It is important to note that remarkably, after several years of assembling and sifting data , the panel found that economic , heathenish , and regional effect shave only a gloomy impact on a countrys risk of political dissymmetry. Rather, stability is overwhelmingly impelled by a countrys patterns of political competition and political authority. (Goldstone, 2005). Although Libya is a country that is divided along tribal lines, it also has a good better population and a decent economic growth. Resea rch has shown that economic, regional and ethnic set up only have a modest effect on a countrys risk of political instability and clearly, what works in establishing a stable democracy is moving toward a political system with completely open and fully competitive parties that maintains strong checks on executive authority. (Goldstone, 2005) Stability is hugely determined by the prevailing patterns of political authority and competition. The key to maintaining stability lies in the following 1. making democratic institutions that promote open and fair competition 2. Avoiding political polarization and factionalism 3. rarefied substantial measures against abuse of executive force-out Furthermore, wealth and few or no communal tensions help, but a country does not need wealth or a homogenous population to achieve stability.The fact of Libya having a well educated population also aids in its capability for liberal democracy. Educated people tend to hold liberal views and be more tole rant of divergent views. In the case of Libya, there exist factors that are in its favour in terms of achieving a liberal democracy. In addition, its oil reserves and a wealthy exchequer are assets that can be use to build democratic institutions and improve cogency building in its current institutions. The commandment of laws that curb excesses by the executive will be huge boost in this direction.Thus, the prospects of democracy in Libya are not so bleak when considering its wealthy exchequer and its small and talented population which have proven that they possess a voice to speak out for the promotion of a good agenda in Libya. distant poorer countries who may have to seek external funding to support their democratic initiatives, it need not do so. It has the necessary jacket to start a wide range of socio-economic programs aimed towards a liberal democracy.For now, the rebel leaders seem to be receiving acceptable levels of support from the populace and this among other fa ctors serve as crucial pointers that the prospects of a liberal democratic Libya are real. To conclude, we deduce from the above highlighted points that democratic development in Libya is faced with many challenges, political and economic, internal and external of long years authoritarian regimes, twin with bad governance, fear of mismanagement of accrued capital and mass participation, non-conducive investor atmosphere and a shield from the West.At a minimum, the core elements of evolution political democracy are A strong, pluralistic civil society nonsymbiotic of state control and able to hold government accountable Regular and effective mechanisms to choose and to change representatives, governments, and policies by non-violent means wide dispersion of economic resources and state commitment to broadly distributed human development The rule of law incorporating the principles of the supremacy of the law, equality before the law, and the impartial and fair administration of t he law Strong institutions and an international environment which supports, or at least not harmful to, the above element. This is what Africa and other emergent liberal democracies need in achieving political and economic development of this new world order regime.