| Summary/Abstract |
The signing of the UN-brokered Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) in December 2015 and the subsequent establishment in March 2016 of a Government of National Accord (GNA), led by technocrat Fayez al-Sarraj, have raised hopes. Perhaps a two-year conflict that has divided the country between two rival parliaments and governments, each allied with armed actors, will finally be brought to an end and Libya's stalled transition resumed. Thus far, post-Qadhafi Libya has been plagued by the predominance of local interests linked to cities, regions and tribes that have thwarted the creation of a national polity. In principle, the LPA should mean that there is now agreement on new central-governance structures. However, this is far from being the case. The new unity government does not have broad-based support within the country and is increasingly vulnerable to challenges to its legitimacy. This does not bode well, given that the state lacks a monopoly on the use of force, with brigades and renegade units of the army operating autonomously.
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