Libya's Displacement Crisis: Uprooted by Revolution and Civil War

by Megan Bradley, Ibrahim Fraihat, Houda Mzioudet

Overview

Libya faces a bleak humanitarian crisis, the result of the country’s descent into civil war in the summer of 2014 following the 2011 revolution.

Hundreds of thousands of Libyan citizens are uprooted within the country and many more are sheltering in neighboring states, particularly Tunisia. Drawing on in-depth interviews with policymakers, practitioners, and displaced Libyans both inside and outside the country, Megan Bradley, Ibrahim Fraihat, and Houda Mzioudet present a brief, yet thoroughly illuminating assessment of the political, socioeconomic, security, humanitarian, and human rights implications of the continued displacement of Libyan citizens within and outside their country.

Assessing the complex dimensions and consequences of the situation, Libya’s Displacement Crisis lays the groundwork for what comes next. Acknowledging that the resolution of this crisis hinges on a negotiated end to the Libyan civil war, the authors present ideas to improve assistance strategies and to support durable solutions for displaced Libyans with implications for refugee crises in other parts of the world, including Syria and Iraq.

Georgetown Digital Shorts—longer than an article, shorter than a book—deliver timely works of peer-reviewed scholarship in a fast-paced, agile environment. They present new ideas and original texts that are easily and widely available to students, scholars, libraries, and general readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626163294
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2016
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	86
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Megan Bradley is assistant professor of political science and development studies at McGill University and a nonresident fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

Ibrahim Fraihat is a senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center, adjunct professor in international conflict resolution at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

Houda Mzioudet is a freelance journalist, commentator, and researcher on Libyan and Tunisian affairs and the coauthor of the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center analysis paper (with Roman David) titled "Personnel Change or Personal Change? Rethinking Libya's Political Isolation Law."

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction ix

Conceptual Issues xii

Chronology xvii

1 Background: A Fallen Regime, Victor's Justice, and Resurgent Violence 1

The Fall of the Gaddafi Regime 1

The Rise of Victor's Justice 2

The Initial Displacement Crisis 6

Civil War and the Reescalation of the Displacement Crisis 8

2 A Growing Crisis: Internal Displacement in Post-Gaddafi Libya 16

A "Constant Nightmare": Daily Life and Protection Challenges for Libyan IDPs 17

Lackluster Responses and Barriers to Solutions 20

3 Precarious Refuge: Displaced Libyans in North Africa 29

Into the Shadows: Libyans' Search for Invisibility in Neighboring Countries 30

Insecure Status, Lack of Documentation, and Fear of Return 33

Declining Living Conditions 37

Dismantling an "Army of Opposition," Advancing Durable Solutions 40

4 Durable Solutions: Obstacles and Prospects 52

The Lynchpin: Security and Rule of Law 53

Participation in Dialogues and Negotiations 54

Transitional Justice, Reconciliation, and the Resolution of Displacement 55

Conclusions and Recommendations 58

Shorter-Term Recommendations 58

Longer-Term Recommendations (Relevant for a Postconflict Context) 60

About the Authors 62

Editorial Reviews

Stellar analysis of Libya's war . . . astute observations regarding the need for more durable "reintegration" solutions . . . break[s] the barrier of distance and challenges us to do the same.

Christian Century