Civil society and nation building in the Arab spring: a focus on Libya

Abstract

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have remained a powerful force in state craft and international relations. Over the years, the powerful wind of CSO influence has blown from the West into Africa. Ironically, the combination of dictatorial and sit-tight leadership pushed the wind of change and revolution to the Arab Spring. This paper which focused on the role of civil society in the Arab Spring revealed that while the CSOs easily influenced leadership change and nation building in Egypt and Tunisia, the dictatorial grips of Qaddafi as well as activities of tribal actors prevented the strong emergence of CSOs in Libya. The paper finally revealed that social media became a powerful force that paved the way for NATO’s intervention and final demise of Qaddafi’s regime.

Keywords: Civil society, Media, Ggovernment, Qaddafi, Libya