Still in the Game: Ankara’s Quiet Pivot in Libya – A View from Tripoli

Tripoli, the evening of June 4, 2025. Around sundown, I stood on the corniche of Treeg al-Shat near the Waddan Hotel, watching as a convoy of armored pickups moved hastily toward the Radisson Blu “al-Mahary”. The vehicles belonged to the General Security Apparatus (GSA) – a Zintani-led force headed by the Libyan Interior Minister’s brother […]

The Unraveling of “Stability” in Tripoli

Over the past 24 hours, Tripoli has witnessed a rapid escalation in armed confrontations involving key factions aligned with the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Special Deterrence Force (SDF). This bout of violent clashes began Tuesday evening, when directives from Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeiba had mandated the evacuation by the SDF-affiliated  Judicial Security […]

New Report: Sudan, Human Smuggling and Refugees

This report examines how Sudan’s civil war has reshaped the country’s human smuggling landscape, highlighting the growing reliance of refugees on smugglers to escape the conflict. It can be accessed here.

No Country for the Young: The Degeneration of a Libyan Generation

Analyzing contemporary Libya through the prism of its youngest demographic makes it possible to discern the wider social and political transformations within its polity. This chapter builds on literatures pertaining to agency, social mobilization, war economies, and the legacies of wartime violence and mobilization. It details how Libyan youth are increasingly penetrating militarized spaces since […]

New Report: Illicit economies and peace and security in Libya

The brief details the impact illicit economies have on armed groups and political dynamics in Libya. It assesses the state of play of the main illicit markets in the country: fuel smuggling, drug trafficking, mercenaries, arms and ammunition smuggling, and migrant smuggling and trafficking.