ABSTRACT
Libya has been in continuous civil conflict since the Arab uprisings in 2011, suffering from recurring cycles of social, political, security, and economic crises that reinforce one another. Increasingly weak state institutions and a deteriorating national economy facilitated fragmentation, disunity, and provided fertile grounds for continued violence. This chapter focuses on three major issues: (1) understanding the underlying causes of conflict, (2) identifying the potential peace-building efforts and political transitions in the post-conflict phase, and (3) proposing an economic agenda for post-conflict reconstruction. It brings forward an inclusive agenda of peace-building and economic reconstruction in line with the dynamics of the country. While reconstruction requires building new state institutions and a new economy, there continues to be little consensus among both national and international actors on how to tackle the conflict. Nonetheless, the basis for any enduring settlement is a new social contract that would comprise at least the following three dimensions: (1) an inclusive political regime approximated by a substantive democratic arrangement, (2) an equitable economic reconstruction, and (3) an end to the militarization of militias.
