Historical Evolution
Throughout the country development of Libya, it has been subjected to various periods of foreign influence . Libya first began as a country made of lose knit ethnic groups and indigenous Berber tribes. The majority of Libya was organized into agricultural centers controlled by tribes. The only thing that kept this country together was the tenth century institution "the Porte" which was a Turkish administration that did not have much influence over the country.
In the early twentieth century, Libya first began to build a National identity during the Italian invasion. In 1911, Italians invaded the fertile coastal plane of Tripolitania and the city and easily gained control, due to the political fragmentation in Libya. Italy then pushed forward and tried to invade Fezzan, but they were stopped by the Sebah tribes that rallied and fought the Italian. This caused them to withdraw from the country side. Then in 1934, Italy invaded again and during the invasion the tribes in Cyrenaica, under the banner of Sanussi religious order and national heroes like Umar al Mukhtar, resisted the invasion. This resistance resulted in a ten year bloody guriella warfare where 50% of the population in Cyrenaica died.
Libya regained its independence through Idris, who lead the Sanussi order, when he lent his troops out to the allies in WWII. In exchanged, the UN granted Libyas independence in 1951 with Idris as king.
In 1969 a coup detat by the Free Officers movement overthrew king Idris, and he was replaced by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Muammar Qaddafi had instituted a unique political system and various social experiments that, in the long run, only hurt the country. Gaddafi had put in place a political system that combined socialist and Islamic Theories and rejected parliamentary democracy. In reality though, Gaddafi acted as a dictator and made all key government decisions. Gaddafi instituted movements such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Irish republican army, hurting Libya's relation with foreign countries. Libya had began to make a slow decline towards a dark future with Gaddafi at the helm. In 2011, the Arab Spring Civil War broke out where the anti Gaddafi committee formed a National Transitional council that was to represent the rebel areas. The war raged on and Gaddafi was ousted from power August 20, 2011 in the Fall of Tripoli. A parliamentary republic was then put in place and was protected by the temporary Constitutional Declaration of Libya that was drafted August 3, 2011.
In the early twentieth century, Libya first began to build a National identity during the Italian invasion. In 1911, Italians invaded the fertile coastal plane of Tripolitania and the city and easily gained control, due to the political fragmentation in Libya. Italy then pushed forward and tried to invade Fezzan, but they were stopped by the Sebah tribes that rallied and fought the Italian. This caused them to withdraw from the country side. Then in 1934, Italy invaded again and during the invasion the tribes in Cyrenaica, under the banner of Sanussi religious order and national heroes like Umar al Mukhtar, resisted the invasion. This resistance resulted in a ten year bloody guriella warfare where 50% of the population in Cyrenaica died.
Libya regained its independence through Idris, who lead the Sanussi order, when he lent his troops out to the allies in WWII. In exchanged, the UN granted Libyas independence in 1951 with Idris as king.
In 1969 a coup detat by the Free Officers movement overthrew king Idris, and he was replaced by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Muammar Qaddafi had instituted a unique political system and various social experiments that, in the long run, only hurt the country. Gaddafi had put in place a political system that combined socialist and Islamic Theories and rejected parliamentary democracy. In reality though, Gaddafi acted as a dictator and made all key government decisions. Gaddafi instituted movements such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Irish republican army, hurting Libya's relation with foreign countries. Libya had began to make a slow decline towards a dark future with Gaddafi at the helm. In 2011, the Arab Spring Civil War broke out where the anti Gaddafi committee formed a National Transitional council that was to represent the rebel areas. The war raged on and Gaddafi was ousted from power August 20, 2011 in the Fall of Tripoli. A parliamentary republic was then put in place and was protected by the temporary Constitutional Declaration of Libya that was drafted August 3, 2011.