Spray painting the Libyan revolution
by Thomas Hüsken, Anthropology News, January, 2012
This commentary will explore some actors and patterns of the recent political culture in the Cyrenaica region of Libya with special regard to the revolutionary events. This political culture is shaped by the polymorphy of tribal, Islamic and civil urban forms of political organisation as well as varying notions of power and legitimacy.
Tribe and Revolution
In his early years Gaddafi abolished the tribe as a legal unit and reorganised local administrative structures, explicitly replacing tribal politicians with followers of the revolution. However this collided with the political, social and cultural realities in the country. In the past decades of Gaddafi’s regime tribal leaders had not only come to dominate and control a significant part of the state but also charged the political culture with tribal notions and practices. It is thus not surprising that tribal politicians have not been at the forefront of the revolution. Nevertheless they have actively shaped and organized a great deal of the transitional political order in the last months. They have come to dominate the local transitional councils in Cyrenaica due to their skills as producers of order and conflict mediators on the basis of the tribal customary law. They have gained significant influence in the National Transitional Council (NTC). The production of order is accompanied by a broad common sense on tribal culture among the population. Both build the legitimacy of these leaders. The political practice of these politicians is shaped by a consensus-oriented process of moderation and negotiation that is embedded in tribal traditions but is also informed by their education and by experiences in governance and business. Their political visions focus on the continuation of a regional and local intermediary rule between the central state and the people. The reintroduction of polygamy and Sharia by NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jelil in November 2011 was an affirmative signal towards these leaders. In my understanding they will play an important role in the political future of post-Gaddafi Cyrenaica and in Libya as a whole. Continue reading Political Cultures and the Revolution in the Cyrenaica of Libya