Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Mustafa Fetouri
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Libya in the prism of US’s Global Fragility Act
In the shadows of the war in Ukraine the Biden-Harris administration has released what amounts to a policy – but less than a detailed strategy – paper aimed at interrupting “potential pathways to conflict” around the world to keep such conflicts and their consequences from reaching the United States’ borders.…
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The colonial lie celebrating 74 years of forgery and land theft
The European colonisation rush of conquering other peoples across the world had its own narrative and justifications to make its case for itself, and for its own public opinion in explaining otherwise unexplainable sins of occupation. It had to make sense, too. Major former colonial powers like France, Great Britain…
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An anatomy of chaos in State destruction
According to the United Nations roadmap adopted in November 2020, Libyans should have cast their votes to elect a legislative and president on 24 December, 2021, but that did not happen. As a measure of precaution the roadmap mandated another attempt to be made no later than 23 June 2022,…
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What is behind Libya’s recent crackdown on human rights and activists?
Over the last few months, Libya’s Internal Security Agency (ISA) has rounded up seven young Libyans, accusing them of very serious crimes including that of apostasy, contempt of Islam and spreading of atheism. Such accusations in the predominantly Muslim and overwhelmingly conservative country could be a death sentence, even if…
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As France votes for president, its Algerian legacy lurks in the background
Whether France is voting, commemorating D-day or debating French identity in terms of Republic Values, Algeria is always present in some way. It is almost impossible to discuss anything of substance in France in which Algeria does not feature and, sometimes, dominates the debate. After all, Algeria was not just…
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NATO’s expansion strategy is helping to destroy de facto member Ukraine
NATO as an organisation and through its thirty individual members has been doing its utmost to help Ukraine against Russia’s invasion ever since Moscow launched its attack in February. Even before the war started, some NATO members were offering Kyiv all kinds of assistance, including what many western officials call…
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For how long can Saudi Arabia remain the virtual signatory of the Abraham Accords?
It is inconceivable that last week’s Negev Summit could have taken place without Saudi Arabia not only knowing about the meeting but also blessing it. Since the Abraham Accords were signed, in the name of peace between Arabs and Israel, Saudi Arabia has been the silent party and the virtual…
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A war, two prime ministers and two roadmaps clearly not enough to end Libya’s long transition
The current political impasse in Libya is unlikely to be solved over the next two months. By June, it is likely to become even more complicated because the United Nations’ sponsored roadmap that brought in Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh as Prime Minister will expire then. This has the potential to create…
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Some Africans have good reasons not to condemn Russia over Ukraine
On 2 March, 141 UN member states voted to “condemn” Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, calling it a serious violation of the UN Charter. Thirty-five countries abstained or did not vote at all, among them seventeen African nations, which is another indication of increasing Russian influence in the continent.…
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The Iron Lady is not giving up on Libya just yet
Over the last two weeks, the United Nations Special Advisor on Libya, Stephanie Williams, has been under sustained attacks across social media. Williams, who returned to Libya last December, is neither impressed nor responding. The current stalemate is, as usual, the outcome of disagreements between Libya’s House of Representatives (HoR)…
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Why does Libya’s incoming government have only two female ministers?
On 1 March, Libya’s Tobruk-based Parliament voted in a new cabinet led by former Interior Minister, Fathi Bashaga, and its 29 ministers, six State Ministers and three Deputy Prime Ministers have all taken their constitutional oath. However it is unclear if, and when, the new government will take office in…
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Libyans are angry over their Foreign Minister condemning Russia
Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, going on for over a week now, has been condemned across the world. However, there are countries that had to walk a very fine line in deciding their reactions and contextualising them. It goes without saying that a country like Syria, for example, was…
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Is Mali leading the long-overdue anti-France African revolt?
Late last January, French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said that Mali’s new authorities was “illegitimate and takes irresponsible measures” describing the military government in Bamako as “out of control.” By 1 February, Mali declared French Ambassador, Joel Meyer, persona non grata, giving him 72 hours to leave the country.…
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After the African Union revoked Israeli’s observer status, it is time for more work
African Heads of States and governments meeting at the African Union’s Summit (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 5 February decided to revoke Israel’s observer status to the continental bloc. The decision came after hard lobbying by many countries, led by Algeria and South Africa and supported by Libya, Tunisia,…
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‘I will leave no stone unturned’, vows UN Advisor after returning to Libya
The reappointment, earlier last December, of Stephanie Williams as Special Advisor on Libya to the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, came at a critical moment for the political process in Libya. The election date of 24 December was fast approaching, while everything on the ground was pointing to the polls…
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Replacing Libya’s corrupt Prime Minister could be a risky business
On Monday, 1 February, Libya’s Tobruk based parliament started accepting nominations for the post of Prime Minister to replace the current caretaker premier, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, in what is seen as a sign of deepening divisions in the country. Dbeibeh was first elected to the job by a United Nations-led…
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Another failed UN Envoy attempts to tackle decades’ long Western Sahara conflict
Already exhausted in the Syrian mediation efforts, Staffan de Mistura, has just been appointed, by the United Nations Secretary-General, as his envoy to Western Sahara’s decades’ long dispute. Mr. de Mistura has served, in more or less the same job, in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. He has been with the…
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The challenges facing Algeria at home and abroad in 2022
Fighting corruption in state institutions and the public sector remains the top priority in Algeria this year as it hopes to improve the domestic situation and prevent the return of the mass protests seen since 2019. The anti-corruption drive continues to shape much of the public debate in the country…
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What will 2022 bring to Tunisia in light of Kais Saied’s power grab?
Tunisia began 2022 just as troubled as it ended the previous year, in which the milestone was marked on 25 July by a President who believed, and still does, that he has the upper hand and the ultimate solution in a country which, until recently, was considered as the jewel…
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Scandal-stricken Dbeibeh’s ‘marriage gifts’ policy backfires
The handouts are not meant as loans to be paid back, but simply free money given to people to help them get married. Governments, around the world, help people get married, but only under certain conditions like, for example, to deal with population decline. Such decisions are made after serious…
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Why Libyans want the UK ambassador expelled
On 24 December, the United Kingdom embassy in Tripoli, Libya, issued a statement on its Twitter and Facebook accounts that, at first, looked like a routine statement on developments in the country—something major countries’ embassies, including the United States, used to do. Not this time. A few moments later, Libyans…
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The visit to Ankara by Libyan parliamentarians looks like shifting political alliances
A delegation of seven Libyan parliamentarians, headed by deputy speaker Fawzi Al-Nuwairi, visited Ankara last week and met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in what is seen as a breakthrough in relations between Turkey and Libya’s parliament. The visit is the first of its kind after years of animosity. Apart…
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Can the Iron Lady salvage Libya’s elections?
On 6 December, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, appointed Stephanie Williams, nicknamed the “Iron Lady” by some Libyan politicians, as his Special Advisor on Libya, SASG on Libya. Her appointment comes at a very critical moment in the Libyan stalled democratic process, with uncertainty looming over the 24…
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Could Libya really have democratic and transparent elections?
If Libyans really go to the polls as planned, on 24 December, it will be a moment of history-making and a new reality in the conflict ravaged country. The North African country never had a president before, let alone running one in which the president is directly elected by the…