“Students of Western political philosophy would categorize Col. Gadhafi as a quintessential student of Jean-Jacques Rousseau: He made clear that he deeply distrusted any political group that might stand between individual citizens and the “General Will” as interpreted by the Legislator (i.e., Col. Gadhafi himself). When I argued that freedom of association could enhance democratic stability, he vehemently dismissed the idea. That might be so in the West, he insisted, but in Libya it would simply strengthen tribalism, and he would not stand for disunity.”
A potentially drawn-out civil war?
Also On This Site: From CSIS: ‘Audio: Arnaud De Borchgrave on Muammar el-Qaddafi and Continuing Unrest in Libya’…From The New Yorker: ‘How Qaddafi Lost Libya’ From Abu Muqawama: ‘Mubarak And Me’…Walter Russell Mead At The American Interest: ‘Mubaraks, Mamelukes, Modernizers and Muslims’…Fareed Zakaria At Time: ‘Why There’s No Turning Back in the Middle East’
From March 27th, 2009 At WhiteHouse.Gov: Remarks By The President On A New Strategy For Afghanistan And Pakistan…From CSIS: ‘Turmoil In The Middle-East’…From The New Yorker: ‘How Qaddafi Lost Libya’
