Libya: Oil, Corruption, Militias, and a Democratic Transition

Libya has been mired in conflict since the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Over the past decade, multiple UN-mediated efforts have sought to bring stability and democracy. However, power struggles among political elites, divisions between regional power centers, and international support of opposing armed factions continue to undermine progress. Most recently, this has resulted in the failure of national elections and reemergence of rival governments.In light of these challenges, the U.S. Department of State commissioned this report to study power sharing structures and peace agreements in other nations in order to provide recommendations for Libya. The report focuses on three primary case studies – Iraq, Nigeria, and Sudan – and seven secondary case studies. These cases inform the report’s recommendations for establishing a durable power sharing system within Libya.

The study’s recommendations aim to promote the following goals in Libya:

● Advance a political structure that balances the need for a unified central government with a level of regional autonomy

● Establish a formal resource sharing arrangement that promotes transparency and national unity

● Reduce opportunities for spoilers in the security sector

● Minimize corruption while creating incentives for elite buy-in to the political and security system

Drawing on lessons from the case studies, our report emphasizes that progress should be incremental and requires a rethinking of traditional approaches to peacebuilding. To that end, we lay out a roadmap for a series of piecemeal power sharing arrangements that span political, economic, and security sector reforms.