Writing Sample 2: The following is an excerpt from my senior thesis, which explored why the Libyan Revolution ultimately ended in chaos, and what steps would need to be taken in order to arrive at a place of stability.
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Libya: Towards a Fuller Humanity
“The revolution will not be televised...
The revolution will be live.”
-Gil Scott-Heron
I. Introduction
The story of the ‘Arab Spring’ typically goes something like this: On 18 December 2010, a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi self immolated, leading to a wave of popular demonstrations spanning the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The protests fueled by social media resulted in the ousting of leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, as well as reforms in Morocco and Jordan. Civil conflict persists today, notably in Syria and Bahrain.
What this narrative fails to capture is the unique histories that individually fueled the uprisings in each respective state. This thesis aims to look at Libya from a different theoretical approach, emphasizing the role of its individual history in shaping its current state of affairs. By employing theories put forth by Paulo Freire and John Gaventa, I hope to contribute to the broader discourse on Libya by presenting a unique approach to understanding what spurred uprisings in Libya after four decades of relative quiescence. Additionally, I hope to contribute by proposing how Libyans should proceed if they hope to implement the stable form of governance (i.e. democracy) that they set out to achieve in 2011.
In the first section, I summarize the two primary theories driving this thesis: the first being, Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy, and the second being John Gaventa’s contextualization of the three-dimensional approach to power. Next, I employ both theorists to deconstruct Libya’s history and highlight specific factors pertinent to understanding how and why Libya set out to democratize when it did, and why that journey ultimately failed. This analysis divides Libyan history into three phases: the conquest/colonial phase from 630 BC-1951, the imperial phase from 1951-1969, and the dictatorial phase from 1969-2011. The latter portion of my thesis transitions into looking at what spurred the 17 February 2011 revolution, which was preceded by four decades of oppression, and examining why the revolution failed to yield the intended results. I conclude my thesis by putting forth my own examination on the state of affairs in Libya today and what I propose as the necessary steps moving forward.
“Without a sense of identity, there can be no struggle.”
-Paulo Freire
“The dimensions of power say something not only about how quiescence is maintained, but also about the aspects of powerlessness which must be overcome in the development of a successful protest.”
-John Gaventa
II. Theoretical Approaches
Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy:
Paulo Freire defines oppression as, “Any situation in which “A” objectively exploits “B” or hinders his and her pursuit of self-affirmation as a responsible person”. Freire saw education as the primary vehicle through which oppressed groups could embark on the path of liberation, and ultimately overcome their oppression. In discussing the practical implementation of this liberating education, Freire outlines two forms of education: systematic education and educational projects. He explains that systematic education requires political power in order to be implemented, and because the oppressed do not possess such political power, they must resort to educational projects. The process of overcoming oppression begins with the recognition of one’s humanity, and concludes with the acquisition of a complete consciousness, referred to as conscientization. Freire explains that this pedagogy of the oppressed has two stages. The first sees the oppressed unveiling the world of oppression, and through praxis, committing to its transformation. In the second stage, where the oppression has been transformed, the pedagogy becomes one for all people in the process of liberation.
John Gaventa: The Three-Dimensional Approach
In his book Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley, Gaventa employs Steven Lukes’ three-dimensional approach to power to answer a series of questions on domination and powerlessness.
“Why, in a social relationship involving the domination of non-elite by elite, does challenge to that domination not occur? What is there in certain situations of social deprivation that prevents issues from arising, grievances from being voiced, or interests from being recognized? Why, in an oppressed community where one might intuitively expect upheaval, does one instead find, or appear to find, quiescence?”
Gaventa argues that quiescence is not an indication of tacit approval, but rather is a result of the power relations at play. In order to understand how he comes to this conclusion, it is necessary to understand what constitutes the three dimensions of power. The first dimension is the most straightforward of the three, and is constituted primarily of the observable resources that allow actors to prevail in the political arena. The second dimension adds to the resources in the first dimension by adding a ‘mobilization of bias’ which alludes to a systematically normalized set of values and beliefs that benefit those in positions of power at the expense of the powerless. Finally, the third dimension which is the most difficult to distill,
“…involves specifying the means through which power influences, shapes or determines conceptions of the necessities, possibilities, and strategies of challenge in situation of latent conflict….It may involve, in short, locating the power processes behind the social construction of meanings and patterns that serve to get B to act and believe in a manner in which B otherwise might not, to A’s benefit and B’s detriment”
Thus, one concludes that the three-dimensional approach to power holds that power is not merely the capacity to dominate in the political arena the acquiring desired results, but rather that power also determines what issues are brought to the table, and indeed, whether or not those issues can even be identified by those affected by them. Throughout his analysis, Gaventa discusses specific circumstances (i.e. unconscious patterns of powerlessness) that will come into direct play when looking to Libya as our case study.