Libya and Europe [Ressource électronique] : economic realism at the rescue of the Qaddafi authoritarian regime

Relations between Libya and the West in general, and with the members of the European Union, in particular, have always been ambivalent and tense. Libya's foreign policy, founded on radical Arab nationalism, its support for revolutionary and terrorist movements across the globe, as well as its relentless opposition to 'United States imperialism', resulted in costly enmities. Qaddafi's erratic and atypical behaviour caused suspicions regarding the intentions of the country often accused of being a sponsor of state terrorism. Worse still, the Lockerbie (1988) and the UTA (1989) bombings resulted in severe and quite costly sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European countries, most of which had severed diplomatic relations with Libya in the late 1980s. Even if the unilateral sanctions the United States imposed upon Libya brought Europeans and Americans to loggerheads, especially as pertaining to commercial interactions, this did not allow Libya to break its international isolation. However, since 1999, relations between Libya and the Western world have undergone a remarkable turnaround. This article reviews the evolution of Libya's relations with the European countries and analyses the reasons which have allowed the recent enhancement of relations between the Jamahiriya and the northern neighbours. Commercial, energy, and security issues are among the main factors which elucidate these developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Journal of Contemporary European Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)