A Decade of Conflict Management Processes in Libya Since the Arab Spring: Taking Stock

The so-called “Arab Spring” of 2010/11 left many countries in Africa and beyond generally unstable and floundering in a state of collapse, civil war and long-drawn armed conflict. This state of affairs has come with at a huge price. Internal displacement, refugee and immigration crises among other humanitarian crises, over and above wanton human suffering have characterized Libya during this period. A decade later, this is the sad outlook that describes the northern African state each time it features in various academic, media and policy circles. At the same time, international terrorist groups as well as human trafficking syndicates and assorted armed non-state groups have continued to wreak havoc in Libya, making it a major point of concern not only within the Africa Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) but also the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the European Union (EU) among others. Yet the international community has been engaged in a series of international conflict management processes albeit with many and varied outcomes. Against this backdrop, this Chapter takes stock of these decade-long international interventions and the implications thereof in as far as the search for peace in Libya is concerned. As such, the discussion takes a retrospective re-look at the evolution of civil war in Libya since the Arab Spring and the implications of the same on regional peace and security in northern Africa. Further, the analysis undertakes an examination of the actors, interests in the conflict and the various conflict management efforts, both national and international levels, that have taken place in the Libya theatre in the past decade; before “tying it together” with a number of conclusions and recommendations on the same going forward.