Foreign Actors in Libya's Crisis

Foreign Actors in Libya’s Crisis Edited by Karim Mezran, Arturo Varvelli The Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan organization that promotes constructive US leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the central role of the Atlantic community in meeting today’s global challenges. © 2017 Ledizioni LediPublishing Via Alamanni, 11 – 20141 Milano – Italy www.ledizioni.it [email protected] Foreign Actors in Libya’s Crisis Edited by Karim Mezran, Arturo Varvelli First edition: July 2017 Editorial Review by Elissa Miller Print ISBN 9788867056439 ePub ISBN 9788867056446 Pdf ISBN 9788867056453 DOI 10.14672/67056439 ISPI. Via Clerici, 5 20121, Milano www.ispionline.it Catalogue and reprints information: www.ledizioni.it Contents Introduction Frederic C. Hof, Paolo Magri............................................. 7 1. Libyan Crisis: International Actors at Play 13 Karim Mezran, Arturo Varvelli...................................... 2. Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia. Neighboring States - Diverging Approaches Tarek Megerisi............................................................... 23 3. The Gulf States: Channeling Regional Ambitions in Different Directions Saskia Van Genugten.................................................... 41 4. Europe: Carving Out a New Role Mattia Toaldo............................................................... 57 5. Russia: Looking for a Warm Sea Andrea Beccaro............................................................. 73 6. United States: Reluctant Engagement Ben Fishman................................................................. 91 Conclusions Karim Mezran, Arturo Varvelli..........................................111 Appendix Nicola Missaglia................................................................119 The Authors.......................................................................135 Introduction Libya is going through a phase of political and institutional un- certainty with repercussions on a number of levels. This uncer- tainty is preventing the establishment of a security framework in the country, which has allowed militias to rule unchallenged. The absence of a single, functional central government has left borders porous and allowed transnational trafficking to thrive, including migration flows in the Mediterranean. The House of Representatives (HoR) in Tobruk in the east and the interna- tionally recognized Presidential Council and Government of National Accord (PC/GNA) led by Fayez al-Serraj in Tripoli are at an impasse. A meeting in Abu Dhabi on May 2 between Serraj and General Khalifa Haftar, the military leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA), may have brought negotiations closer to a turning point. However, the meeting’s political outcomes are far from clear and the situation remains worrisome. The UN-led political reconciliation process, launched in December 2015 by an agreement in Skhirat, Morocco, appears to have lost momentum and to have been de facto side-lined by negotiations held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Thus, the PC/GNA is still in a juridical limbo, waiting to be fully legiti- mized by the HoR. The HoR itself is split: part of it has set up a “legitimate” headquarters in Tripoli, while a minority remains in Tobruk and recently sanctioned to suspend the UN-led political process. Most of the country is still at the mercy of militias and the precarious alliances between them. A new UN envoy, Ghassan Salamé, should renew previous UN efforts by relaunch- ing mediation efforts and working to contain external interfer- ence in Libyan affairs. 8 Foreign Actors in Libya’s Crisis Still, describing the Libyan situation as a fight between the PC/GNA and the HoR would be an oversimplification. The two factions are themselves divided, so much so that it is be- coming increasingly likely that none of them will be able to bring the country under its sole military control. Moreover, as of late, loyalties among the various factions or groups in Libya have considerably shifted. Divisions and bickering among local and international actors are likely destined to worsen, even as the Islamic State (ISIS) is less and less able to exert control on swathes of Libyan territory. The presence of ISIS in Sirte had attracted the attention of many local and international actors, pushing many to set aside their differences, albeit temporarily, in the fight against the terrorist group that concluded in late 2016. From its start, the Libyan crisis has been shaped by external actors, so much so that foreign influences were crucial in fos- tering and channelling the revolt against Muammar Qaddafi’s regime in 2011. Most of the regional and international actors involved deluded themselves into thinking they would be able to direct the revolution towards their respective preferred political outcomes. Over the last few years, there has been an utter disconnect in the actions of external powers and international aid and development policies agreed upon with the Libyan government, with external actors supporting different factions over others for personal gain. This disconnect has had a disruptive effect on Libya, greatly hampering the functioning of a central government while bolstering territorial and ideological loyalties. External pressures have further strengthened over the last few months due to growing political and military activism from Russia, Egypt, and the UAE. Diplomatic actions by these countries achieved two conflicting results: on the one hand, they contributed to restarting negotiations that had reached a dead end; on the other hand, they strengthened Haftar vis-à-vis Serraj, bolstering his leading role in any future political scenario for the country. It is not surprising that these external actors carved out a key role for themselves following Western powers’ abdi- cation of a larger role in Libya. The US presidential transition, Introduction 9 President Trump’s rhetoric, and elections in France and the United Kingdom contribute to explaining decreased diplomatic Western involvement in Libya. To understand the process of “internationalization” of the Libyan crisis and its possible outputs, this report examines the role of international actors in the country and in the regional context. The analysis attempts to address the balance of power among the main local actors (militias, parties, municipalities, etc.) as mirroring the interests of global and regional powers. Against this background, the volume puts the Libyan crisis in a broader perspective and aims to contribute to the public de- bate on an issue that has become a priority on the international agenda. The report also aims to outline policy recommendations, particularly for the United States and the European Union. The report is the outcome of a joint effort by ISPI and the Atlantic Council and draws from some of the most prominent international experts on Libya. In the first chapter, the report’s editors, Karim Mezran and Arturo Varvelli, outline and sum- marize the most recent events in Libya. They analyze the deep political rifts and their causes in the country, both at the domestic and the international levels, and highlight the role of international actors in exacerbating, rather than scaling down, domestic animosity. The second chapter delves deeper into the posture towards Libya of three of its neighboring countries: Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. Tarek Megerisi argues that Cairo has developed increased influence in Libya over time. While Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s interests are mainly rooted in economic and security issues, Haftar’s pre-eminence in Libya has allowed Cairo to foster an ideological channel to direct such interests. For their parts, Tunisia and Algeria have, at times, attempted to present a united front to address common concerns stemming from the need to monitor their long desert borders with Libya and from the presence of jihadist groups. All three countries appear to lean towards a security-centric approach that, however, does not appear to be paying off. 10 Foreign Actors in Libya’s Crisis Gulf countries have played crucial and conflicting roles in Libya as well. To some extent, Libya has been an international stage for the current crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Supporting diverging political goals, the two countries have attempted to export the developmental model typical of Gulf countries based on a rentier economy to Libya. However, as Saskia Van Genugten focuses in the third chapter of this volume, the two Gulf powers have radically different views of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist forces, which have further fanned the flames of the domestic conflict. Mattia Toaldo examines Europe’s role in the Libyan conflict in the fourth chapter. Beginning with the 2011 military interven- tion against Qaddafi, European actors were divided over Europe, with France and the United Kingdom supporting the interven- tion and Italy and Germany less so. European actors have been more divided since the regime’s fall. Despite this, since 2014, European countries have been able to coordinate their agendas by kick-starting and supporting the political process that result- ed in the Skhirat agreement. Many open questions still plague political and diplomatic action in Libya by the European Union. But European leadership is needed if the international community seeks to stabilize Libya and address the issues that led to the conflict. In the fifth chapter Andrea Beccaro highlights some of the reasons for Russia’s increased involvement in Libya. Haftar’s an-

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