Libyans’ longing for a state

Virginie Collombier , 18 March 2013

Despite the many warnings since the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi that Libya is about to fracture along regional, tribal and provincial lines – and despite the reality of this possibility – Libyans seem eager to see the process of statebuilding move forward and governmental institutions put in place in their country.

In a general context of poor security and in the absence of concrete measures on major issues such as youth unemployment, however, the slow pace of the transitional process and what increasingly looks like institutional paralysis and factional politics are negatively perceived by the people.