ABSTRACT
In the run-up to the first parliamentary elections in 42 years, Federalist leaders called on Libyans to boycott the elections to the new Parliament, engaged in partly violent protests, and forced oil sites to shut down. The marginalization of minorities, especially Tubu and Tuareg, was problematic for the question of state-building. Given the transnationality and the transborder connectivity of these minorities, particularly in the southern region of the Fezzan, much of the Libyan southern borders remain under their control. Meanwhile, many Libyans had become increasingly disillusioned with the political process and had lost trust in their political institutions. Despite the low voter turnout, some Libyan politicians and activists remained carefully optimistic that a constitution-making process could reignite a sense of national belonging. he Libyan constitution-making process, and the transitional process in general, underlined the state institution’s vulnerability vis-a-vis local power holders and exhibited the fragmentation of the Libyan political landscape and the fragility of Libyan state- and nationhood.
