Qadhafi's Libya, 1969-1994 [Hardcover]

Dirk Vandewalle (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1995 | ISBN-10: 0312125879 | ISBN-13: 978-0312125875 | Edition: 1st

Although much attention has been paid to the more spectacular exploits of the Libyan government and its leader, Mutammar al-Quadhafi, the internal politics of the country remain largely unexplored. In this volume editor Dirk Vandewalle has assembled a group of scholars who have been studying the political and socioeconomic progress of the Libyan government since Quadhafi assumed power in 1969. By paying particular attention to the contradictions between the regime's rhetoric and the day-to-day reality of life in Libya, the picture that emerges is one colored by the tensions and inconsistencies that exist between the aspirations of this self-styled revolutionary state and its complete dependence on the international economy to survive. The availability of massive oil revenues has allowed the Quadhafi government to engage in an experiment of popular management of the country's political and economic structures. Unfortunately, this governmental experiment is unlikely to outlive the Libyan leader. Through the work of these scholars who have spent a considerable amount of time working in Libya, the internal workings of the Quadhafi government are viewed in a new light and the future of the country is seen more clearly. Quadhafi's Libya, 1969-1994 is a fresh and enlightening look at this highly volatile country and its charismatic leader.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (October 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312125879
• ISBN-13: 978-0312125875
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,092,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nasser's example..., October 15, 2006

By 

Mr Bassil A MARDELLI "Antoun" (Riad El-SOLH , Beirut Lebanon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Qadhafi's Libya, 1969-1994 (Hardcover)

Qadafhi's `revolution' has been protected from any adverse public outrage.
Differences of opinion with the regime wouldn't be acceptable until proof had been offered.
The Coup was not harmful to the outgoing politicians clutching at any straw for they were not, in the first place, fully committed to the deposed King Idris al-Senussi.
The best beneficiary was Gamal Addul Nasser, who after `his' 1967 defeat (Arab/Israeli War of June 67), Nasser showed understanding and sympathy with the young `free officers' in Libya and never withheld his consent when the Coup was a fait accompli.
Actually, the Libyan Coup had been a mirror image of Nasser and his colleagues seventeen years before.
Many, in the Arab world, believed that Nasser concocted the Coup whereas it came mainly by the nearest chance. King Idris was on vacation in Turkey (perhaps for medical treatment), when he was deposed in bloodless Coup. The second `blood free' in the Arab World in an Arab country located in Africa.
A few days adter the Coup, Nasser sent his emissaries to Libya to meet, for the first time, the new leaders and they came back to Egypt and boosted Nasser's shattered morals that `they are your men Rayyess'[Leader].
History will record that, without his knowledge, Nasser inspired the young Libyan officers. "He reminds me of my youth" Nasser spoke of Qadafhi to his confidant Hassanein Heikal.
Nasser's example of a `clean' Coup in Egypt was 'copied' in Tripoli and this may well have combined to save many lives in Libya.