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Libya
Other Multilateral Organizations
Libya is a member of several other regional and international
groups, including the League of Arab States (Arab League), the
Islamic Conference, the Arab-African Development Bank, and the
Islamic Development Bank. As a leading member of the Third World
movement, it has been a strong proponent of the establishment
of a new world economic order between North and South.
Nuclear Development
Qadhafi's stance on nuclear weapons has been contradictory. Unconfirmed
but persistent press reports beginning soon after the 1969 revolution
indicated that Libya wanted to purchase a nuclear weapon or the
components for such a device. According to one report, Qadhafi
sent his deputy, Jallud, to Beijing (formerly Peking) in an unsuccessful
attempt to purchase tactical nuclear weapons. Qadhafi has voiced
his concern over the Israeli nuclear capability and publicly expressed
his desire to obtain nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, in 1975 Libya
reaffirmed its commitment to the 1968 Treaty of Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons, signed originally by the monarchy in 1968
(see Foreign Military Assistance , ch. 5). Qadhafi also stated
in interviews in 1981 and 1984 that Libya was only interested
in the peaceful applications of nuclear energy, and he scoffed
at the idea of "an Islamic bomb."
There is no doubt, however, that Libya has undertaken extensive
bilateral negotiations to secure nuclear research facilities and
power plants, and many Libyan students in nuclear energy fields
have been sent to United States, West European, and East European
universities to further their studies. According to the terms
of a 1974 nuclear cooperation treaty with Argentina, Libya was
provided with equipment and technical training. Argentina agreed
to send senior geologists to Libya to advise on uranium prospecting
and uranium enrichment. One alleged reason Libya occupied the
Aouzou Strip in Chad in 1975 was that the area was thought to
be rich in uranium deposits. Libya and India agreed in July 1978
to cooperate in the peaceful application of nuclear energy, in
line with India's "atoms for peace" policy. Libya also contributed
money to Pakistan's nuclear effort. France agreed in 1976 to build
a nuclear research plant in Libya designed to power a water desalination
plant.
Libya's main partner in the nuclear field, however, has been
the Soviet Union. A small (ten megawatt) Soviet-supplied reactor
began operation in Tajura (outside Tripoli) in 1981. Three years
later, a research center was opened at the same site; aided by
Soviet staff, it continued to operate in 1987. In early 1986,
however, a plan for the construction of nine 440-megawatt nuclear
power plants was suspended indefinitely.
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In the 1970s, relatively few scholarly books were published about
Libya. For a study of the early years of the Libyan revolution,
Ruth First's Libya: The Elusive Revolution is perhaps
the single most authoritative source. Henri Pierre Habib's Politics
and Government of Revolutionary Libya, though likewise dated,
contains useful information, although it is biased favorably toward
the regime. In the early 1980s, several important books filled
the vacuum of information on Libya. Libyan Sandstorm
by John K. Cooley, published in 1982, provides an entertaining
yet meticulously researched journalistic account of the activities
of the Qadhafi regime. Qaddafi and the United States Since
1969 by P. Edward Haley, published in 1984, provides a comprehensive
and detailed description of Libyan foreign policy, particularly
insofar as it affects United States interests. In 1986 and 1987,
as Libya became more newsworthy, a spate of new books were published
on the topic. Among these, Libya: Qadhafi's Revolution and
the Modern State by Lillian Craig Harris provides an excellent
general overview of the situation in Libya. Qaddafi and the
Libyan Revolution by David Blundy and Andrew Lycett is a
highly critical and well documented probe of Libyansponsored terrorism.
Jonathan Bearman's Qadhafi's Libya is a sympathetic yet
informative analysis of the Libyan revolution. The Making
of a Pariah State: The Adventurist Politics of Muammar Qaddafi
by Martin Sicker concentrates on Libyan foreign relations. The
State and Social Transformation in Tunisia and Libya, 1830-1980
by Lisa Anderson looks at Libya in a larger historical context.
Qaddafi: His Ideology in Theory and Practice by Mohamed
A. El-Khawas focuses on Qadhafi's thought. With regard to the
latter topic, the English language translation of Qadhafi's three-volume
The Green Book is widely available. Likewise, as a primary
research source, an English language version of the Libyan newspaper
Az Zahf al Akhdar is available.
Because of the rapid pace of political change in Libya, books
soon become outdated, and to obtain recent information on the
subject one must rely on news media, in which Libya is well covered.
For further detail, one must turn to specialized periodicals such
as Africa Confidential, African Economic Digest,
Africa Research Bulletin, Middle East Economic Digest,
the Economist Intelligence Unit Quarterly Reports on
Libya, and the chapters on Libya in the annual Middle East
Contemporary Survey. French-language sources include Le
Monde Afrique and Jeune Afrique. (For further information
and complete citations, see Bibliography.)
Data as of 1987
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