Date: April 6, 2021

Libya New Period or Old Battle Lines?

Description: Libya has emerged in recent years as the primary flashpoint in regional geopolitics. All the feuds, divides, and struggles that have defined the MENA regional politics since the onset of the Arab uprisings have played out in Libya. More ominously, the battle for Libya has also drawn in all the major international actors. These fiercely fought ideological, political, and geopolitical battles have not only shaped the battle lines in Libya but have also reverberated across the region. On a positive note, the conflict has partially de-escalated in recent months. More promisingly, the UN-led process has produced an interim government, which is tasked with heading the county into the elections in December 2021. The question that remains to be answered is whether this de-escalation is a temporary respite or a new direction for the country.

This webinar intends to address the following questions:

  1. What does the new interim government mean for the conflict dynamics in Libya?
  2. Similarly, what does the new interim government’s election mean for the presence and policies of the external actors in Libya?
  3. How are the dynamics/scenarios between Turkey, Russia and the UAE/Egypt likely to unfold in Libya?
  4. What will drive the Biden administration’s Libya policy? How will the Biden administration affect the dynamics in Libya?
  5. How is European policy on Libya evolving?
  6. What are the prospects for reform of the security sector?
  7. What are the prospects for reform of the economic sector?
  8. What are the long-term prospects for stabilization and unification in Libya?

Participants (in Alphabetical Order)

Anas Al Gomati, Sadeq Institute

Can Kasapoğlu, Center for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM)

Daniela Huber, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)

Emadedddin Badi, Atlantic Council

Galip Dalay, Robert Bosch Academy&Brookings Doha

Kadri Taştan, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF)

Kamaran Palani, Salahaddin University

Khaled Fouad, Egyptian Researcher

Mehmet Emin Cengiz, Al Sharq Forum

Mitat Çelikpala, Kadir Has University

Mohammad Affan, Al Sharq Forum

Nebahat Tanrıverdi Yaşar, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)

Nikolay Kozhanov, Gulf Studies Center of Qatar University&Chatham House

Osama El-Mourabit, Al Sharq Forum

Ömer Aslan, Al Sharq Forum

Rawan Hamoud, Al Sharq Forum

Sinan Hatahet, Al Sharq Forum

Tarek Megerisi, European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

Valentina Pegolo, University of Oxford

Wolfram Lacher, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)