Qadhafi's comeback: Libya and sub‐Saharan Africa in the 1990s

Abstract

In the 1970s and 1980s, Colonel Qadhafi's Libya combined its important financial resources with an intense anti-imperialism in supporting insurgencies, coup d'6tats and radical governments all over sub-Saharan Africa. The military intervention in Chad was undoubtedly Libya's most significant external involvement. However, in 1994 Qadhafi accepted a decision handed down by the International Court of Justice in favour of Chadian sovereignty over the disputed Aouzou strip. The withdrawal of Libyan forces from the disputed territory seemed to mark a significant change in Qadhafi's foreign policy towards sub-Saharan Africa: some observers concluded that Libya wanted to disengage from black Africa. Nevertheless, in 1998 Qadhafi declared that Africans and not Arabs are Libya's real supporters. The Libyan state-owned radio 'Voice of the Arab World' was renamed 'Voice of Africa', a number of African leaders breached the UN embargo and a regional organization entitled 'Community of Mediterranean and Sahelian Countries' that included Libya and its sub-Saharan African neighbours was created. However, Libya's revived interest in sub-Saharan Africa is more a tactical move than a structural shift in its foreign policy. The Libyan-black African rapprochment reflects Qadhafi's disappointment with the limited support he has received from Arab countries in his efforts to confront the international sanctions that were imposed on Libya after the explosion of PanAm flight 103. IN SEPTEMBER 1999 THE LIBYAN LEADER Colonel Muammar al-Qadhafi celebrated his thirtieth year in power. Officially, Qadhafi, who led a military coup in 1969, is not even head of state. He is known simply as the 'brother leader of the revolution'. But in practice the 57-year-old colonel and a tight circle of advisers continue to rule Libya and define its foreign policy. Libya, although large in area, has a tiny population and is a poor country in all respects apart from the fact that it has substantial oil resources However, by trading these oil resources, the Qadhafi regime has been able Asteris Huliaras is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Harokopio University Athens, Greece, and a Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of International Economis Relations, Athens. This is a revised and expanded version of a paper originally presented at the International Conference of the European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES) held at the University of Ghent, Belgium in September 1999. The author is grateful to an anonymous referee for useful comments on an earlier draft.