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The battle for Benghazi: the limits of stabilization by military means
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Corporate Editor
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik -SWP- Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit
Abstract "After being on the sidelines of the transition process for more than two years, Benghazi has been turned into a major battlefield over the past nine months for the competing parties in Libya. Yet, even a victory by the forces fighting on behalf of the government of Tobruk over Islamist forces backe... view more
"After being on the sidelines of the transition process for more than two years, Benghazi has been turned into a major battlefield over the past nine months for the competing parties in Libya. Yet, even a victory by the forces fighting on behalf of the government of Tobruk over Islamist forces backed by the rival administration in Tripoli is unlikely to stabilize the situation in eastern Libya, let alone solve the deep crisis that has all but ended the political process since summer 2014. Rather, it is liable to lead to increasing competition -and perhaps violent conflict- among the different elements of the fragile coalition now backing the Tobruk government as well as intensify momentum leading toward the breakup of Libya as a unitary state. The fight for Benghazi therefore illustrates the limits of stabilization by military means. Germany and its European partners should support a unity government, which the current talks in Geneva are aimed at. They should also desist from contributing to a further escalation by supporting actors who push for military solutions." (Autorenreferat)... view less
Keywords
political movement; Islam; civil war; crisis; power struggle; fragmentation; Islamization; government; conflict; military; power politics; political system; Libya; domestic policy
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Document language
English
Publication Year
2015
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
8 p.
Series
SWP Comment, 8/2015
ISSN
1861-1761
Status
Published Version; reviewed
Licence
Deposit Licence - No Redistribution, No Modifications