Customer Reviews

Libya's Qaddafi: The Politics of Contradiction

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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As a political science major at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and also a frequent student of Dr. El-Kikhia, having read this book I can say that it is absolutely essential to an understanding of Libya's past and present political course and journey. Dr. El-Kikhia's unique perspective and special knowledge presents both the average reader and political science student with a powerful insight into the core of Quaddafi's world.

Mansour El-Kikhia provides a critical and entertaining account of the 'unique' and flawed political system that Ghadafi has instituted in Libya. I found it balanced and very relevant. This system has produced some interesting, if puzzling, results in the course of its implementation that clearly demonstrate its shortcomings and its proclivity to suffer from excessive zeal .
El-Kihia shows how Qadhafi has concentrated power to the provinces where the Colonel's extended family members wield important posts in the army and provincial government. The concept of a formal head of state has also been revised in favor of designating an official leader. El-Kikhia also suggests that there has been a concerted effort to diminish the influence of technocrats and educated personnel, who have been instrumental in ceating the institutions to manage the oil economy and important political negotiations with the outside world, in favor of the ideologues of the revolutionary cadres . Certainly this is in accordance with the pattern of power distribution that has prevailed in Libya since the al-Fatah revolution.
There are also accounts of the decline of culture and eductaion as a result of Qadhafi's policies and the profusion of ideology in all aspects of daily life.

As a student of Professor El-kikhia's Foreign Policy courses, I can address his almost uncanny knowledge and understanding of foreign policy and the Middle East in specific. I would wholeheartedly recommend this and any other of Professor El-Kikhia's books to those who wish to educate themselves in foreign policy in this unique sector of the globe.

Ben Herd

"Libya's Qaddafi" is marketed as some kind of sensational and sensationally insightful book on Libya's strongman Gaddafi and his regime.

In reality, it's nothing of the kind.

Most of the facts found in this book can also be found in similar works by St. Ronald Bruce John and Dirk Vandewalle. "Libya's Qaddafi" is actually a basic introduction to the history of Gaddafi's Libya, the political system, the economy, etc. There is nothing particularly sensational about this volume, except that it's grossly overpriced by Amazon's third party sellers.

Perhaps El-Kikhia's book gives such an unusual impression, because he never calls Gaddafi "mad"? That may be shocking to somebody who only reads American newspapers, but no serious scholar considers the Libyan leader clinical (although he is definitely extremely idiosyncratic!).

I have nevertheless decided to give this book four stars, but it's really an introductory text, than a fantastic new angle on the problem.