Libya, Human Capital and the Global Economy Rabia Gewieder
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School of Social Sciences Brunel University Libya in the Modern Orientalist World-System: A Critical Analysis of English Language Acquisition (ELA) as a Factor in Libya‟s New Developmental Strategy Rabia Saad Gewider 2012 R. Gewieder Supervised by Peter Wilkin Dedication To spirit of my father who always believed in me, and who from a distance was my Inspiration and strength. I‟m always proud to be his daughter. 1 Acknowledgements My first thanks go to my research supervisor Dr. Peter Wilkin. He has been very supportive and enthusiastic in the breadth of his intellectual curiosity, guidance and encouragement. I am very fortunate for having known him. My thanks also go to my second supervisor Dr. Timothy Milewa, who helped me by reading and copiously commenting on earlier drafts of chapters. In addition I would like to thank Mr. David Donnarumma who acted as my proof-reader and gave me effective advice for improving my writing. He generously shared with me his knowledge of the specific areas of my thesis, questioned my arguments, and corrected many translation mistakes. My thanks go to my friends Mohamed Al-Amin and Manal Balaa, who I shared many tears and laughs with over duration of my thesis. I consider them to be my second set of advisors. Their careers and interests are different, but they were always there for me especially at those moments when I lost my father and other moments. I do appreciate that moment when I met them here in England and became good friends. My debt is not confined to one single country. In Libya thanks go to all members of my family, who are the most important reason for my being able to study in Britain. I'll never be able to thank them enough for helping me, especially my youngest sister Nagwa. Of course I do express my gratitude to the previous Higher education minister in Libya and all those who took part in my field work. Finally I gratefully acknowledge all my friends and the staff of Brunel University who have given their time and who have also offered valuable advice during my study period. Finally my deep thanks go to the Libyan embassy bureau in London for their administrational and financial assistance. 2 Libya in the Modern Orientalist World-System: A Critical Analysis of English Language Acquisition (ELA) as a Factor in Libya‟s New Developmental Strategy Abstract This thesis is a critical examination of the „new vision‟ strategies that the Libyan government undertook in order to promote the deeper integration of the Libyan economy into the global economy of the Modern Orientalist World-System (MOWS). This process has been taking place since the lifting of the trade embargo on Libya by President Bush in April 2004. A crucial part of this new vision strategy was the promotion of human capital development amongst the Libyan population and with a particular emphasis upon English Language Acquisition (ELA). The argument, derived from neo-liberal thought, is that for Libya to transform itself it must embrace neo-liberal ideas that will see the government adopt the role of the enabling state, preparing Libyans for employment in a newly established private sector. ELA, the learning of what is called „global English‟, is the central part of the new vision human capital development goals. The assumption here is that by developing the English language skills of Libyans it will enhance their job prospects with foreign firms arriving in Libya. This strategy is being pursued in the aftermath of a state directed ban on the learning of English that was first decreed in 1986 and the consequences of which placed a significant obstacle in the way of the immediate employment prospects of a generation of young Libyan graduates. If the state developmental strategy now embraced by the Libyan government is to be successful then it must promote the rapid improvement in the second language skills of its young people (specifically „global English‟) if they are to take advantage of the opportunities offered by a newly opened economy. However, this strategy is fraught with dangers for the government as liberalising the Libyan economy weakens the control of the state over society. Thus the thesis addresses a number of key questions regarding the relationship between human capital (language skills) and the sociology of development; of human capital as a concept in the „modern Orientalist world-system‟; and the changing nature of state-society relations in Libya as the government attempts to integrate it more firmly into the MOWS. To what extent can the Libyan government transform its economy and society in a way that enhances its position in the MOWS rather than simply rendering it more dependent upon the power of the core? 3 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background Languages are often seen as symbols of a nations‟ identity and it is a commonly held view that each nation has the right to maintain its identity, however problematic this has become in practice. One strong version of this thesis says that “there is one national language which is spoken by everyone with the same national identity” (Byram, 2006:03). Arabic holds a distinct place in world languages in that it connects a cultural group (the Arabs) and a series of distinct nation-states. Hence, Arabic is the most important language for Arabs regardless of their nation-state and has become a unifying symbol of both their national and cultural identity, a point recognised by writers such as Fanon (1965; 2006a). Having said that it is also the case that the era of Western colonialism which followed the collapse of the Ottoman Empire saw colonial languages like French and English become dominant in many Arab societies throughout the Arab Maghreb. As a consequence of this many Arab people, particularly writers, intellectuals and politicians, have now come to view colonial languages such as English and French as a threat towards their culture and a problematic legacy of colonialism. This is a major reversal of many intellectual positions held in the Arab world in the late C19 and early C20 when many Arab intellectuals accepted and interpreted European power over the Arab world as a reflection of its cultural superiority. This, in turn, as Massad notes, saw Arab intellectuals portraying Arab culture in the Orientalist terms of their colonial rulers (Massad, 2008: 39). Indeed, this theme of the relationship between language, power and identity has animated the work of important figures such as Fanon and Said, and more recently Wallerstein, and been central to the rise of Postcolonial Theory. Since independence in 1951 Libyan governments have been resistant to the lure of colonial languages such as Italian or English on the grounds that they might undermine the national culture. In the early days of the revolution Fanon was a major influence on the Gaddaffi led government but over time his warnings about the limitations and complexities of national culture and consciousness for the colonised became replaced by a much stronger commitment to national culture (Fanon, 2006b). However, this essentialising of language in the construction of cultural identity has also raised problems that critics of post colonialism have emphasised in that it exaggerates the importance of a unifying national language in the construction of newly independent nation-states and fails to recognise the diversity of languages throughout the region and in Libya too (Ahmed, 2008; Ayubi, 2001; 4 Kumaraswamy, 2006). The first chapter of the thesis will set out and expand upon the framework of the MOWS and its usefulness as a way of understanding Libya‟s new vision policies. It will also examine the nature of Libya‟s dependent relationship with the core of the MOWS as well as how Libya‟s history relate to the „Developmental State‟ literature. In the second chapter of this thesis concentrates on examining the place that language has played in Libya during and since colonialism as part of its process of resistance to colonialism and of nation-building. It does this because it helps to contextualise the role that language came to play as a factor in Libyan government strategies after the confrontation with the USA in the 1980s. For the Libyan government and people language became a site of resistance to Western power. Libya‟s adoption of a policy of resistance to the languages of colonialism was part and parcel of a number of policy decisions that whilst helping to preserve the Arabic language also served to deepen the countries isolation, economically, culturally and politically. The key factors in this process of Libyan retreat from the world-system were primarily: First the decision made by the Libyan government to stop the teaching of foreign languages including English in 1986 as a reaction to the US attack on Tripoli; second, the international sanctions against Libya in 1993 which followed on from the Lockerbie bombing where the country was greatly affected in terms of its international communications economically, socially, politically, and culturally. During this period of international sanctions more than two generations of Libyan graduates have been affected in terms of their capacity to travel and study abroad and develop their communication skills. This lack of skills and knowledge has in turn affected these groups (graduates) and their job opportunities today. It has also undermined the possibility of social change within Libya as the state failed to utilise the resources it had available to it, most crucially what is often described in the developmental literature as its „human capital‟. The „New Vision‟ strategy adopted in 2004 has been an attempt to overcome this problem with a view to reintegrating Libya into what has recently been described as the „Modern Orientalist World-System‟ (MOWS) (Samman and Al-Zo‟by, 2008).