Take Two, beginning with Libya

Let's try this again, shall we?

A lot has happened since that post in February, 2009, and it would take a while to recap it all. So let's just get back in the swing of things with a very interesting article from the New York Times.

This one is about the difficulty of nation building in the ruins of the ancien regime. The media has focused a lot on the war, but what I find more interesting is how the rebels have been trying to rebuild their country in the midst of the conflict. In this area of the Nafusah Mountains, the rebels have held their ground and built a new society in what was once Qaddafi's Libya. This is in spite of the fact that this rebel held territory is much closer to Tripoli than the areas out in the east; weeks earlier the territory had been on the brink of defeat.

But the politics of the situation is not as interesting as how the city is run. The proverbial trains still need to run and administration still has to be done. For instance, in spite of the war many of those who worked for Gaddafi's government have retained their old positions in what is supposed to be the new Libya. This includes the police, many of whom are Gaddafi's men in new rebel uniforms. The article never delves into why this has happened, but one can see why. Not all of these people were loyal to Gaddafi because they loved him, but simply because they needed a job and he was willing to give one to them. This is true throughout the Middle East, where jobs are given to many to make it economically difficult for them to revolt. After all, why would one revolt against his employer? Furthermore, these people know how to run a state, and can run the trains that are working well while the rebels try to put the other ones back on their respective tracks.

At the moment, this region has also embraced the idea of "freedom of speech," or at least the right to protest against its former dictator. Seven new newspapers have been launched in this area (and distributed through the magic of photocopies), proving that at least in this part of the world the newspaper industry is not dead.

Honestly, the entire article is worth a look, just to see how much has changed...and how much work it takes to build a new state and fight a much stronger foe, even when you have wealthy Libyans contributing from abroad and an ill-equipped army against a much stronger one.

Yes, this is my first new post in more than two years, and I plan to do this on a weekly basis at worst, but preferably a daily one. Hope you like the revived blog!