Reviving Alternative Conflict Resolution Approaches in Proxy Wars: The Case of Libya

Libya has lived in a state of fragmentation since 2011 after the fall of the al-Qaddafi regime and in a state of dual and confronting administrations since 2014, exacerbated in 2022. During the last decade, successive conflict resolution attempts have been instilled, without much success. This policy brief reviews these conflict resolution attempts and argues that the current situation can be resolved by bringing other new perspectives in foreign policy-making. A particular focus is given to the political actors and the main personalities that control the future of Libyan politics.

This policy brief argues that previous fora looking for a peaceful resolution have been unsuccessful due to the lack of human rights and bottom-up approaches in foreign policy-making. Peaceful resolution efforts have mostly focused on the interests of fragmented elites that have managed to coopt institutions and create parallel administrations, in both East and West. Alternative conflict resolution approaches for the future of Libya should learn from previous lessons and voice the interests of the Libyan population.