REGIME CHANGE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

REGIME CHANGE - Essay Example Coup de tat involves forceful transition where a leader comes into office by overturning or rebelling against the government. In such a case, the leader has authority, but lacks legitimacy/ claim to his or her title. In most cases, regime changes towards an authoritarian regime are characterized by totalitarian actions which inhibit peoples’ freedoms (Goerman, et al., 2009). The other one involves external forces, which are characterized by external pressure from non governmental bodies such as the United Nations and NATO. The UN may pass into law interventions that are aimed to kick out a certain regime in a country (Gilligan & Sergenti, 2008). A good example is the global communities’ involvement in ousting the current regime in Syria, which is being accused of going against its peoples’ wishes and lacking legitimacy. Examples of significant regime changes across the globe include Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and even Syria. Political history of Libya Libya has a real distinct history, which dates back to the 16th century with the decline of the Berbers dynasties, to the takeover by the Turks, then the French, and then under Italy in 1912; up to the time they gained independence in 1951 (History World, 2012). During the Italian rule between 1914 and 1945, there was the introduction of fascism, which should be noted distinctively as a new method of administration of Libya back then. Italy appointed fascist governors who operated with extremes measures to the point of setting up concentration camps to subdue resistant from two major Libyan areas. Major regimes in Libya After the second world war, and under a United Nations resolution the three major regions of Tripolitania, Cyrenacia and Fezzan come together to form the present day Libya, under the leadership of King Mohammed Idris I. His term in the throne was a huge shift from the fascist rule embraced by Italy during the colonial period. His style of governance involved ruling Libya as an old fashioned monarch. This meant that democracy was thrown out of the window. This kind of rule was retrogressive to the economy of the region since the royalty used up most of the resources impoverishing the population. Eighteen years into his rule as king, King Mohammed was deposed in a bloodless military coup by the then twenty seven year old Muammur Gadaffi, a captain in the air forces. He immediately becomes the commander in chief of the armed forces. Gadaffi ruled Libya with a firm grip, creating a reputation of being a hard stance dictator who was very unpredictable, and the world over. He developed a philosophy which he used in governing Libya which he wrote in a book titled ‘The Green Book’ which was published in two volumes, one in 1978 and the other in 1980.The book highlighted a political philosophy based on Islam, Arab nationalism and socialism. Gadaffi’s reputation on the international stage suffered a significant blow due to his unpredictable nat ure. He was many times accused of supporting financially extremist groups across the globe. The use of Libya’s oil wealth in meddling in other countries affairs made the international community set up measures of controlling his influence. In April 1986, in his government’s commitment against international terrorism, Ronald Reagan the then president of the United States authorized airstrikes in Libya,