NATO ruined Libya, but couldn’t break it

Despite the de facto partition, the state functions as a complex mosaic of entities and interests, while people remain bound by deep ties

To an outside observer, Libya is a map of fractured jurisdictions. Yet, beneath the surface, a singular, invisible nervous system keeps the lights on. This is the ultimate Libyan irony: although the state is politically decapitated, its financial heart beats with pragmatic regularity. Libya survives through a ‘functioning paradox’ ...