The Role of Sub-national Factors and Ethnic-Tribal Structures in the fall of Gaddafi's Government

The popular uprisings of 2011 in the Arab countries of West Asia and North Africa, which led to political regimes change in Tunisia, Egypt, and then Yemen and Libya, could not be limited to purely political or economic factors in the view of many observers. Therefore, paying attention to the other dimensions and aspects of these developments can lead to results, which may have been less considered so far. In this context, ethnic characteristics and tribal factors are among the issues in the light of which, the 2011 revolutionary developments in some Arab countries can be analyzed from a different perspective.Accordingly, given the importance of ethnic-tribal issues in the political developments on the one hand and the outbreak of the 2011 protest uprisings in Libya as an important country in the Islamic world, the authors seek to analyze the issue of whether ethnic-tribal components played an effective role in the 2011 Libyan revolutionary developments. In other words, can the 2011 revolutionary developments in Libya have ethnic and tribal roots along with other factors and characteristics? In this case, if the answer is positive and the developments in Libya in 2011 can be considered to have sub-national and ethnic roots, the next question should explain why ethnic and tribal roots should essentially be considered as an influential factor along with other existing factors in the developments in Libya in 2011. To answer these questions, the role and function of ethnic-tribal characteristics and components, the context of tribalism, the political and social structure of Libya and its government's approach to tribes and their role in the 2011 popular uprising will be studied. 

The research method of this research is descriptive-analytical. The authors have used library and documentary methods to collect information and data. Descriptive research has considered both applied and basic aspects; in the applied dimension, the results of this research are used in decision-making and policy-making, as well as planning. Knowing the scope of management and the change in variables is essential for decision-making and decision-making and policy-making would be impossible without any knowledge of the society, tendencies, characteristics, quality of variables as well as effective factors in the scope of management. Descriptive research is necessary to make us aware of these affairs. Descriptive research in its basic dimension leads to the discovery of facts and realities. This kind of research in the humanities leads to discovering scientific facts and obtaining a lot of general information by an inductive method.

One of the most important and fundamental social and political features of Libya, which has been historically the source of political developments, which cannot be ignored in the political developments of this country, is the role and function of ethnic and tribal structures. These structures have always deeply affected Libya’s political-social and even economic system throughout history, since the time that this territory was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, and also during the British and Italian colonial period, in the period after independence and the establishment of the monarchy and then since the Gaddafi’s coup and subsequently, its overthrow in 2011. An important aspect of the 2011 Libyan popular protests has been the existence of sub-national and tribal ethnic components and characteristics. This claim is made due to the significant presence of tribal leaders in these developments. The reason for the fact that Libya's revolutionary developments have been affected by ethnic and tribal features is due to two general characteristics of this country. On the one hand, the historical and geographical situation of Libya has been a major factor in the role of ethnic and tribal components in this country. On the other hand, despite its economic and social achievements, the policies and actions of the government during the rule of Colonel Gaddafi have been a factor in the continuation and revival of tribalism in Libya in the two decades leading up to the 2011 revolution.In this study, the authors tried to answer the main question that "what role did ethnic-tribal characteristics and components play in the popular uprising and the revolutionary developments in Libya in 2011?". To answer this question, the nature and characteristics of the Libyan popular uprising, the historical and geographical background of tribalism in the country, the new social structure of Libya, social policies and approaches of the Gaddafi government to tribes and ethnic groups in Libya and the function of Libyan tribes and ethnic groups in the 2011 popular uprising were studied. The findings showed that ethnic-tribal structures played an important role in the 2011 Libyan popular uprisings.

Tribalism is a prominent feature of sociological issues related to Libya. In different periods of Libya's political history, this feature has given a special shape to the developments in this country. Prior to independence, the ruling powers in Libya tried to contain and control this feature in the direction of their goals, even at the time of attaining independence, whether during the Libyan monarchy or under Gaddafi, the issue of tribalism has been always placed in the core of government’s agendas. The reason for the fact that this feature has so far maintained its importance in Libya's sociological issues is related to the country's historical, natural and political background, which was mentioned in this study. But the more important issue is how tribalism acts in Libya's political future, which needs to be addressed. Since this feature has always been a major factor in creating ethnic and social divisions in the country, if future governments in Libya do not pursue effective ethnic policies, given the continuation of old ethnic divisions and the creation of new ones, the country's political scene will be faced with instability and problems due to ethnic divisions as in the past.