From the Monarchy to the Fall of Gaddafi

Abstract

The following chapter is an account of the country’s history, with an emphasis on those aspects of its history that have particularly informed the current debate. Moreover, special emphasis will be put on how Libyan society was constituted in the past. Three historic breaks can be identified here: first, the change from a land under Italian colonial rule to a self-ruled state constituted as a monarchy with initially a federal system of government. The federal system with its three regions and their abolition in favour of ten provinces informs today’s discursive thread about federalism and decentralization. Second, Gaddafi's coup d’état, which turned Libya into a republic. His Green Book was later to become the de facto constitution of Libya.