The Role of Oil in Sustaining Conflict: The Case Study of Libya

Abstract

War and Peace literature has not yet achieved a conclusion on the correlation between natural resources (including diamonds and petroleum derivative) and civil conflict. When it comes to the Libyan conflict, there are no previous efforts to understand the role sweet crude oil in Libya plays in fueling the conflict creating a seemingly everlasting civil war. This paper argues that the oil and oil supply chain in Libya has played a major role in sustaining and perpetuating the conflict. The paper does not deny that there are historical and ethnic aspects that are influential in stimulating divisions and violence in Libya. It does propose, however, that Libya's oil endowment and structure of the oil sector is an important independent variable. This hypothesis is tested using a single in-depth case study methodology to better understand the association between the two variables. In addition, several government officials and scholars with expertise in the Libyan file has added value to the paper where they shared their views on Libya and the relevance of oil to the conflict. However, the paper comes with its limitation where it depends on secondary data gathered from, scholarly journals, books and credible online resources. The data gathered and conclusion the paper arrived to in this paper can be a helpful aspect to consider in advance to taking decisions relevant to Libya. On an academic level, the study would enrich the understanding of the way oil can impact conflict.

Date of Award	May 2018
Original language	American English
Supervisor	Ashley Rossiter (Supervisor)