Dr. Belkacem Al-Qadi, Professor of Geopolitics at the Libyan Academy,
Citizenship means the complete and responsible belonging of an individual to their state, and this belonging produces mutual rights and duties. The origins of the word “citizenship” go back to the Greek and Roman civilizations, which referred to the legal status of the individual in Athens and Rome. With the emergence of the “sovereign nation” and the definition of “fundamental individual rights,” the meaning of citizenship evolved.
Libya suffers from multiple crises that emerged after the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, the most dangerous of which is the “crisis of national identity.” This crisis lies in the difficulty of uniting Libyans under one national umbrella so that they transcend their regional, ideological, ethnic, tribal, and narrow-minded affiliations. This crisis weakens the sense of belonging to the homeland and threatens to fragment the national identity, especially with the tribal nature of Libyan society.
the Libyan state has not yet succeeded in establishing the principle of citizenship as a practical application, and it can be said that citizenship is absent in light of what can be called the “state of the tribe,” where the principle of “equality before the law” has become a mere slogan.
Resorting to sub-identities in Libya, whether tribal, regional, intellectual, religious, or even familial, has become a refuge for some, to the point that these identities have intertwined with the national identity and even surpassed it at times. While the state of citizenship should be based on human values that are devoid of any affiliations, the crisis of national identity in Libya will worsen in the absence of political stability and strong institutions, which will lead to dire consequences for the future of the state.
Therefore, building a real civil state requires success in creating a unified identity for all Libyans, with an emphasis on common denominators. The desired national belonging is based on a clear, constant, and timeless identity, an independent and distinct identity that aims to serve the Libyan people and Libya, an identity that is free from any tribal, ethnic, sectarian, ideological fanaticism, or affiliation with any other country.
True identity stems from within and cannot be imposed from the outside, but rather grows spontaneously without restrictions. Identity here is the national character that is manifested in a state of full citizenship, where all the colors and cultures of Libya (Arabs, Amazigh, Tuareg, Tebu, and others) are displayed to build a national state that embraces all its cultures on an equal footing.
Cultural and ethnic diversity is not an obstacle to identity, nor a departure from the national character, but rather an enrichment of it. This is achieved by adopting policies of cultural pluralism and ensuring the effective participation of all in political, social, economic, and cultural life. True citizenship is the only guarantee against the failure or collapse of the state, and building a stable state depends on creating a unified identity for all Libyans.