On 19 August, Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Doha Center Yasmina Abouzzohour published an article exploring the reasons Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco have recently deepened their involvement in Libya. Abouzzohour argues that the primary motivation behind Libya’s North African neighbours’ recent engagement is the security threat brought about by continued instability in Libya. She also discusses reasons behind renewed economic relations with Tripoli by Algiers, Tunis, Rabat, and the benefits to deepened intra-regional trade as well as the risks of intra-regional competition. Abouzzouhour concludes with a prognosis that although peace in Libya could strengthen the region economically, a unified Maghreb response to the crisis in Libya is unlikely to emerge.
Why North African countries are deepening their involvement in Libya