Libya War and Democracy

There is no doubt that the Libya civil war has been one of the most dreadful war to happen in Africa in the 21st century leaving the country deeply fractured. It started as a protest against the Abu Salim massacre and then resulted to a conflict which quickly felt across the country as revolutionary wave in the region. By May of 2011, the armed conflict between Colonel Gaddafi forces and those who sought for his removal from government has reached a new dimension. During the war, offers for a truce were rejected by the rebels and endeavors by the international community to stop the battle in light of the fact that the plans put forward did exclude the expulsion of Colonel Gaddafi. Libya responded to the protest with military force, threatening to crush any protester. The United Nations produced UNSC resolution 1970 and 1973 calling for a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace and called on states to take mandatory actions to stop the humanitarian crisis in Libya. NATO responded militarily with a coalition of willing states to enforce the resolutions. This study focuses on analyzing the Libya civil war, humanitarian intervention in line with the principles of just war theory and the expected outcome which is democracy. The study also examines the concept of Responsibility to Protect as an obligation of the international community and states to protect civilians irrespective of their location. The quest for democratization was analyzed and the study concluded that Libya has a long way to democratization. The study recommended true reconciliation, strong political, socio-economic and security engagements including the conduct of free, fair and credible election as solutions to the dead end in Libya. Keywords: Libya, Civil War, Humanitarian Intervention, Responsibility to Protect, NATO, Democracy.