Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Libya's new harvest: the seeds of democracy



Having ousted their dictator, Libyans must now transition from hard power of armed rebellion to the soft power of ideas.

Larbi Sadiki
Al-Jazeera

"Even with Gaddafi at large, Libyans are already buoyant about their future democracy.

Just as they reclaimed the pre-Gaddafi tricolour flag, they have the power to reclaim a rich political history. Moreover, civic struggles have been waged in Libya since 1981 (e.g. the NFSL) - events that remain in the memory of many: a boon for democratic reconstruction. There is already a fierce, but healthy, competition underway amongst the country's nascent civic bodies attempting to construct an indigenous democratic road-map for Libya.

To understand the ins-and-outs of fledgling democratic 'road-mapping', the heritage of the past and the ideational resources of the present must both be considered. There are, for now, four prominent political trends emerging. The explosion of partyism in Libya will be seen in the months to come...."

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