In January 2011, the world started to witness and experience a catastrophic series of revolutions in the Arab world known as the Arab Spring. The series of revolutions and acts of rebellion started in Tunisia and branched out to countries like Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and other countries in the Arab World. In Libya, the main reason for protest involved the Libyan people who were against long-time Libyan Dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Protests began in Libya on February 2011, causing chaos and destruction within the nation until October 2011 when Gaddafi was killed, thereby officially having Libya liberated by the NTC. The uprising in Libya was a mass public reaction by the people, thinking and openly showing their hate and negative feelings towards Gaddafi, who has dictated the nation for over 40 years. The philosophies of known political theorists Thomas Hobbes and John Locke can be easily applied to this case study, a case study that involves and looks at rebellion in a dictatorship, and how both work differently and together. In one corner, you have Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) who wrote Leviathan in 1651. In Leviathan, Hobbes states that power is key, that a leader must gain his power through force of any kind. Hobbes also dabbles into human nature, explaining how we humans are very selfish and are willing to do anything to earn power of any sort, even if it means killing other people. In the other corner, you have The Father of Classical Liberalism, otherwise known as John Locke (1632-1704), writer of the book Two Treaties of Government, who believes that there is no one order or one sole figure of authority when it comes to political power, and that power should be shared between the people and the government. If that sharing connection of power were to be broken, people then have the right rebel and start a revolution. Looking at the events of the Libyan uprising, it is clearly visible to see that the Libyan uprising can be easily connected with the theories of John Locke.
In February 2011, the stir of Libyan uprising started with a human rights campaigner who was arrested, the arrest sparked controversy which then lead to violent protests in the eastern city of Benghazi. The violence spread to other cities, authorities responded by attacking protesters with aircraft's, Gaddafi responded saying he will not quit and will remain in power. Gaddafi continued to fight back against protesters by arresting and killing them, and using high amounts of police and military force. The protesters can be seen as going against the main values and points of Hobbes thesis in Leviathan. In Leviathan, we look into the element of the true dark nature of humans, much like Joesph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, which tells the story of how we are truly evil. In this case, the mass amount of killing and rioting can be seen as a path towards Hobbes, Gaddafi is being greedy with his power and is taking serious levels of measurement to keep his power, by continuously pushing the protesters and freedom fighters to the ground as they question, challenge and go against him and his Hobbes like attitude towards power. Although, the peoples dislike of living under a ruthless dictator like Gaddafi can be seen as more of a Lockeian case. Gaddafi has spent years on end killing and torturing the Libyan people, when applying this to Locke, you realize that the fine line of sharing power between the government and the people has been broken. After years of Gaddafi flaunting his power everywhere, the people finally had enough, so the people took a stand and followed their right to a revolution. Locke says that no two people have authority over each other, one person may expand his power and authority to another party (in this case the general public), and when that expansion is broken, people will wonder whats going on and will revolt, resulting in violence, riots, death and destruction. Basically take all of that and match it with the case in Libya, a simple equation if you may... people's dislike towards Gaddafi, breaking the line of shared power = protest and right to a revolution. The end result of Gaddafi being overthrown and killed proves that there is and should be a social contract between the people and the government, and if that contract gets destroyed or is not properly followed, people rights will be lost and violated and they will revolt as they have a right to if it were the case. This proves that the situation in Libya is well connected with the works and theories of John Locke.
As the riots and protests continued in Libya, Gaddafi still refused to surrender. The rebels plan involved taking over the entire nation, city by city, with their final mark being Tripoli, Libya's capital. The plan was continuously thwarted by opposing pro-regime forces. In relation to Hobbes, this case shows that it can be mandatory to use force against people to enhance a power that can strengthen the minds of others, much like those who support Gaddafi and have formed the pro-regime resistance that is fighting back against the rebels. The ideals and philosophies of Gaddafi managed to be instilled in the minds of many in Libya while others are still against him. Gaddafi now knows that at least some portion of the public are behind him during all of this. But, in relation to Locke, it all roots back to the idea of social contract, if any person has their rights violated, the role of government is questioned and possibly leads to revolution. The old social contract between the Libyan people and the government is worth nothing now, the people demand for a new one that follows the rights and needs of today rather than living in the past which lacks those rights. That's what Gaddafi is trying to do, keep the people in the past and follow the old ways, while the majority are against that and want change. This proves that the situation in Libya is well connected with the works and theories of John Locke.
And so, the Libyan revolution saw the fall of a very old regime. Although this case can be applied to that of Thomas Hobbes, you have issues within the case such as protests and war among people that can easily be applied to John Locke. Therefor, the Libyan uprising can easily be applied to that of John Locke and his idea that ties all of these cases together, the idea of a social contract and what happens when that contract is broken, as opposed to Thomas Hobbes and his idea of doing anything to gain power.
Sources
Books
Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. 1651. Print.
Locke, John. Two Treatises of Government. 1690. Print.
Web Document
"Libya." The Guardian . Guardian News and Media Limited, 10 June 2012. Web. 10 Jun 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/libya>.
"Libya Profile." BBC News Africa . BBC, 22 May 2012. Web. 2 Jun 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13755445>.
"Libya protests - as they happened ." The Guardian News Blog. Guardian News and Media Limited, 20 February 2011. Web. 1 Jun 2012. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/20/libya-protests?INTCMP=SRCH>.
"Libya - Revolution and Aftermath." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 14 May 2012. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html>.
"The World Factbook: Africa: Libya." CIA - The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, 29 May 2012. Web. 2 Jun 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ly.html>.
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