Abstract

Despite a significant investment of military and political capital in helping the Libyan rebels overthrow Qaddafi, international actors have done very little to support Libya’s post-conflict recovery to date. In contrast with all other cases of military campaign in the state by NATO and its allied forces it has done little or nothing compared to a handful of smaller organizations to restore peace back to the place. In essence, the United States and its NATO allies have played a very limited role. The research work is therefore aimed at x-raying the state of Libya in the pre-Ghadaffi days vis-à-vis the current travesty been portrayed in the region. The researchers look at the economic cum political and social condition of Libya under which Ghadaffi ruled compared with what is obtainable today and ultimately what the future holds. The research concludes that although Libya under Ghadaffi’s reign wasn’t the best of Democracies it sure isn’t better after his demise. It recommends amongst others that more should have been done and still needs to be done to restore normalcy to the troubled state, as the United States, its allies and indeed the entire region have both moral and strategic interests in ensuring that Libya does not collapse back into civil war or become a safe haven for armed militants threatening world peace. Terrorist violence is already a problem in Libya, and any increase could have a spiral effect on the fragile and failing Sahel region and the entire world. In contrast, if Libya sees gradual political stabilization under representative government and constitutional rule, the United States and its allies would benefit from Libya’s energy and other resources. International actors have recently started increasing their efforts in Libya somewhat and that is indeed plausible.