Qaddafi’s Coup: Erasing Historical Deviations

Van Genugten, Saskia

doi:10.1057/978-1-137-48950-0_6

Saskia Van Genugten⁴

Part of the book series: Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World ((SCCCW))

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Abstract

The 1969 coup by a group of junior officers took the world by genuine surprise. The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), with Mu’ammer al Qaddafi in their midst, had Libya embark on a new political adventure, one which would last more than four decades. At home, he put great effort into weakening the legitimate sources of power: the monarchy and the religious establishment. At the same time, Qaddafi and the RCC consolidated power through a search for common ground in anti-Western feelings. The revolution proclaimed by the RCC was built on the utopian idea of freeing Libya from foreign influences, in order to uncover a true Libyan national spirit. Dismantling the Anglo-American military bases and expelling a large part of the Italian community were part of this vision. Militant speeches, combined with highly publicized acts of hostility against Western interests served the triple purpose of bolstering domestic legitimacy, attracting attention at the international level, and settling accounts with former occupiers and present imperialists. Nonetheless, the RCC and Qaddafi remained aware that their survival, economically and as such also politically, was linked to keeping substantial relations with Libya’s key trading partners in the West.

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Notes

1.
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2.
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3.
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6.
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7.
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8.
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10.
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11.
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12.
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16.
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17.
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18.
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19.
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20.
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21.
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22.
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23.
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24.
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25.
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26.
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27.
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28.
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29.
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30.
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31.
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32.
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33.
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35.
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36.
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39.
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40.
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41.
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42.
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48.
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53.
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54.
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55.
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59.
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60.
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61.
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62.
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63.
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64.
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65.
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66.
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67.
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68.
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69.
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70.
ASMAE, Calenda a Moro, telespresso 3303, 12 November 1969.
71.
ASMAE, Calenda a Moro, telespresso 3303, 12 November 1969.
72.
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73.
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74.
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75.
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76.
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77.
See for substantive background in this subject: Friedman, Agnelli, 1989.
78.
Friedman, Agnelli, p. 174.
79.
Quoted in Friedman, Agnelli, p. 177.
80.
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81.
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82.
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83.
Wright, Libya: a modern history, p. 144.
84.
Wright, Libya: a modern history, p. 146.
85.
Intelligence Note “UAR-Libya, UAR presence in Libya increasing“, 7 January 1970, SNF 1970-1973, RG 59, NARA.
86.
See Cricco, Il petrolio, p. 199.
87.
See declassified material from the US Department of State (released 30 June 2005),”Transfer of Italian helicopters to Libya”, March 1973, http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=82709&dt=2472&dl=1345
88.
See declassified material from the US Department of State (released 20 March 2014),” US goals and objectives update for Libya”, sent on 12 May 1984:
http://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=305400&dt=2694&dl=2009

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Emirates Diplomatic Acad,Behind Falcon, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Saskia Van Genugten

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Van Genugten, S. (2016). Qaddafi’s Coup: Erasing Historical Deviations. In: Libya in Western Foreign Policies, 1911–2011. Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48950-0_6

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-48950-0_6
Published: 19 May 2016
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-48949-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-48950-0
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