On 13 March, Libya-Analysis’ President, Jason Pack, and Libya-Analysis Senior Analyst, Stefano Marcuzzi, published a report entitled ‘The Libyan Banking Sector: A Microcosm of Global Enduring Disorder’ for the Middle East Institute (MEI). In the report, Pack and Marcuzzi argue that:
We no longer inhabit the post-Cold War era. There is no global hegemon unifying its allies to adopt consensus positions on issues of shared interest like climate change, tax havens, or the reconstruction of post-conflict states. This era of Global Enduring Disorder makes it particularly difficult for wealthy, geostrategically important post-conflict states to transition to stable governance as myriad external and internal conflict actors pull them in a range of directions, making real reform or peacebuilding nearly impossible. This leads to a situation where post-conflict states (such as the post-Arab Spring states) have inherited their dysfunctional economic institutions from the prior regimes without meaningful hegemonic supervision'. All of these core dynamics are at play in Libya’s post-Gadhafi transition. In fact, it may be the first theatre in which all of the relevant dynamics of the Enduring Disorder initially came together.
Pack and Marcuzzi assert that Libya’s banking sector, specifically the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), serves as a microcosm showcasing broader disorder. They examine stakeholder perceptions of the CBL, ongoing struggles with CBL transparency, and examine who benefits from CBL and general Libyan banking dysfunction. Pack and Marcuzzi propose policy suggestions, namely that the international community should not ‘get lost in debates around elections and new interim governments’ but rather should focus on ‘fixing the CBL’s irregular board structure and bifurcation’.
Read the full report here.