Libya is coming in from the cold, but for most of the three decades following the 1969 revolution, the country was labelled a pariah state by the West. Dirk Vandewalle, one of only a handful of western scholars to visit during the time, has written the first comprehensive history of Libya over the last 20 years. Based on original research and his interviews with Libya's political elite it offers a lucid account of Libya's past, and corrects some of the misunderstandings about its present.

The Arab Spring captivated the planet. Mass action overthrew Tunisia's Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. The revolutionary wave spread to the far corners of the Arab world, from Morocco to Bahrain. People power produced this wave and continued to ride it out. In Libya though, social forces began to rebel against Qaddafi but were weak. In came the French, the US and UK forces, ushering in a Libyan winter that cast its shadow over the Arab Spring. This succinct, timely analysis situates the assault on Libya in the context of Middle Eastern revolt in 2011.

This book, part of the Opposing Viewpoints series, emphasizes human rights in Libya. Through its use of essays from a variety of experts on the Middle East, particularly Libya, this book poses questions and answers in a thought-provoking way.