This diploma thesis examines the prospects of the Islamic State's expansion to Libya. Using the method of process tracing, the author assesses the campaign of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and establishes 6 factors he calls ‚enablers' that played key roles in facilitating its success - the ideology, exploitation of state breakdown and governance, funding, combat know-how, propaganda, and sectarianism. He dedicates special attention to the problematics of sectarianism and the way the Islamic State made instrumental use of it in both of these countries. The author then proceeds to assess the viability of the IS enterprise in Libya, examining whether the conditions and circumstances in the country are conducive for an IS unsurgency. He identifies 8 structural conditions that underpinned the relevant enablers in Syria and assesses their relevance in Libya. Comparison of the two cases shows that except for sectarianism all the structural conditions are relevantly present in Libya which, according to J. S. Mill's method of a difference of J. S. Mill's method of a difference, should explain the stalling campaign of IS in Libya. The author proceeds to confirm this hypothesis by assessing the actual campaign of the Islamic State in Libya. He contends the Islamic State tried to follow the successful...

The master thesis on the topic Why do states decide for or against the intervention in other states? Case Study: Libya and Syria is focused on analysing the motives of states, which are crucial for deciding to intervene or not to intervene in the territory of a foreign state. The whole issue is assessed from the perspective of two major theories of international relations - liberalism and realism. As the first research case was chosen the international community's intervention in Libya in 2011. The case was analysed from the perspective of Sweden, which took part in the operation by the deployment of eight fighters Jas 39 Gripen. As the second case was chosen the civil war in Syria, which has been underway since 2011 and whose situation would have required similar interference by the international community. However, this has not happen until that time, although the states are militarily involved in Syria. This case was analysed from the view of Russia, which did not take part in operation in Libya, but since September 2015 has been involved in fighting on the ground in Syria. As a last case was chosen Great Britain, which has militarily participated in both conflicts. For the analysis itself was used Ortega's typology of interventions, which was adapted for the purpose of this work. The different...

This work examines relevancy of theoretical aproaches on the subject of democratization processes presented by Francis Fukuyama, Samuel Huntington and Fareed Zakaria, and it discusses a level of relevancy of their theoretical concepts and theses in comparison to the democratization process in Libya, which started in spring 2011. First, the theoretical part of this work presents specific historical, sociocultural, political, religious and economic contexts of Libya from a historical-sociology perspective with a focus on the democratization and liberalization processes in Libya. It discusses democratization factors and reasons, which are applied on the situation in Libya. The empirical part of this work presents reflections and perspectives of the democratization process in Libya from an emical perspective of a Libyan citizen. These reflections are confronted with the theoretical approaches presented in the first part, especially with Huntington's Third Wave. The empirical part reflects the processes of the previous non- democratic regime of Muammar Kaddafi, then the fall of the regime and the revolution situation in Libya, a new democratic regime and finally, the perspectives of consolidation of democracy in Libya.

The English school of international relations claims that the national interests of states and their behaviour in international relations are not only driven by selfish motives, but the so- called enlightened self-interest as well. The functioning of the community of the states is governed by common rules, laws, values and interests. According to the Solidarist current of the English school it is even acceptable to limit the sovereignty of the state which seriously violates international standards such as the protection of human rights. A discrepancy between the protection of the states' sovereignty and the protection of the rights of individuals was bridged by the Responsibility to protect doctrine adopted at the UN World Summit in 2005. This doctrine has served France and other states intervening in Libya as a support of the legality of their cause. However, the doctrine does not address the conditions of the intervention solely. It also delegates a responsibility to rebuild the war-torn countries to the interventionists. Therefore, it is an appropriate tool for the evaluation of the interests and motivations that have shaped the policies and activities of France in Libya. The analysis suggests that the primary motivation of France has undergone a fundamental change during the course of...

Diploma thesis focuses on the role of the Civil Society in the processes of transition to democracy as a part of the possible democratization wave in the Middle East also know as the Arab Spring. For the purposes of the thesis the author examines three case studies of countries with successful revolutions - Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. Using the method of process-tracing with focus on the path-dependency it traces the changes in the dynamics of the Civil Society in the pre-revolutionary period, concretely during Mubarak's regime in Tunisia, Qaddafi's rule in Libya, and Ben Ali's regime in Tunisia, through the revolutions to the post-revolutionary period. Moreover, the main assumption is that the initial non- democratic regimes have been significantly influencing the transformation process of all three countries and this also applies to the Civil Society as such. The Civil Society, in this thesis, is based on two paradigms. The first is based on the liberal modernization framework and the second is connected with stagnation and socio-economic deprivation. This unique combination contributed to the transformation of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. The dynamics of the Civil Society is then determined by several factors, which are: Civil Society organizations, social media and networks, youth education, economic...

This thesis examines the migration saga of Nigerians who follow the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe and ended up in Sweden. With the use of Everret Lee’s Push and Pull theory as framework, this thesis provides a qualitative analysis of the reasons why Nigerian migrants choose to follow the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe, how they ended up in Sweden, and why they choose to seek asylum in Sweden but not other countries in Europe. The study also discusses the Swedish migration and asylum policy in relation to Nigerian migrants. Through the use of interviews, first-hand information was obtained from four Nigerian migrants who had plied the Libya-Mediterranean route to Europe and agreed to participate in this study. The results of this study show that political instability, economic crisis, terrorism, insecurity, and stringent laws against homosexuality are all factors that could make some Nigerians migrate to Europe for a better life via the Libya-Mediterranean route.

Chenopodium album is considered one of the most important weeds adversely affecting agricultural production due to its highly competitive influence on field crops. Chemical herbicides have increased the efficiency of farming, but recently problems of herbicideresistant weed populations and herbicide residues in soil, water, food products and effects on non-target organisms have increased, consequently, other methods of control of weeds by using specific fungi as herbicides have been suggested. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the biological control of the weed Chenopodium album by the fungus Ascochyta caulina. Some of the factors which control dormancy and germination of Chenopodium album seeds have been investigated to understand better the weed population dynamics. The results showed that seeds from two populations (UK and Libya) differ in their response to factors such as light, chilling, and burying in soil. This could have implications for effective control of the weed in different regions. Two formulations of mycoherbicides (Tween 80 and Gelatine based applications) were tested in the laboratory, and showed promise in reducing growth of the weed, especially the formula of Tween 80. There was extensive shoot fresh and dry weight reduction of inoculated Chenopodium album, as well as reduced root growth. Highest disease severity rates were observed on plants in the first three week of life. A field trial revealed similar results but less disease severity was observed, possibly because of dry weather. However, it was concluded that the fungus Ascochyta caulina is a potentially useful biological control agent but many factors still can be modified in relation to application of the mycoherbicide to increase its efficacy. / Libyan Government

Forest areas are particularly susceptible to fires, which are often manmade. Too-frequent fires are likely to adversely affect the soil properties as well as vegetation composition, and possibly lead to soil erosion and desertification. One of the most fire affected forest regions in the world is the Mediterranean. Libya, in the Mediterranean region, has soils that are considered to be arid except in a small area called Aljabal Alakhdar (Green mountain), which is the geographic area covered by this study. It is the wettest part of Libya, and has an extensive forest and many agricultural crops. Like other forests in the Mediterranean it has suffered extreme degradation. This is mainly due to people removing fire wood, or sometimes converting forested areas to agricultural use, as well as fires which may alter several soil chemical and physical properties. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effects of fires on the physical and chemical properties of soil of Aljabal Alakhdar forest in the north-east of Libya. The physical and chemical properties of soil following fire in two geographic areas have been determined, with those subjected to the fire compared to those in adjacent unburned areas in one coastal and one mountain site. Physical properties studied were: soil particle size, soil water content, soil porosity and soil particle density; and chemical properties studied were: soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil pH, soluble and exchangeable Na, K, Ca and Mg, cation exchange capacity (CEC), soluble Cl, CO3 and HCO3, SO4, organic matter, total N and total P. For the first time in Libyan soils, the effect of burning on the magnetic susceptibility properties of soils was also tested. The results showed that except for the soil water content and magnetic susceptibility, fire has not had a clear effect on the soils¿ physical properties, while there has been a strong impact of fire on most of the studied chemical properties. These results have been used to create an index of burning for such soils in each of the geographic areas, as a step towards creating a model which will enable a subset of soil parameters to be used to estimate how recently a site was burned, as well as defining fire severity at a site. / Libyan Government

Sand movement is one of the many environmental problems facing humans in the dry and semi-dry areas of the world. This study has investigated the observed changes in sand dune coverage compared to predictions, and has also assessed the impact of sand movement on human activity in the north western coastal region of Libya. The study used three methods. The first was a statistical model proposed by Bagnold, which correlates wind shear velocity with particle size, in order to predict likely sand movement. It was found that 60% of sand grains within the study area have a diameter of less than 0.25 mm, making them liable to be moved by the wind speeds recorded, particularly from March until September, and mostly in a northerly direction. The sand in the western part of the study area had a greater predicted rate of sand transport compared with the sand in the eastern part, which was related to its origin. The second method involved the analysis of satellite images for four different years; from 1986 to 2003. The land cover in the study area was found to have changed over this time. Sand dune area cover had increased, and there were other changes particularly a decline in forest. The third method was the use of a questionnaire (the respondents being land owners), which showed that there was notable loss of crop production (by about a quarter) due to sand movement, and that land owners mostly used afforestation to help control the sand movement in the region. The observed sand movement did not match the predictions based solely on sand grain size and wind speed, and climatic analyses showed no convincing trends which could explain increased sand movement except perhaps an increase in wind gusts. The thesis concludes that the overriding determinant in greater sand movement over the period studied was the loss of forest from the area due to human impacts, which farmers are having to compensate for by planting trees locally to reduce sand movement.

The intent of this thesis was to write a memoir of my five month trip to Libya that explores cultural differences through my experiences as an American with Western ideals. This memoir is focused on the cultural norms of marriage in the rural town of Msalata, in the central rural farming belt north of the ever expanding Sahara Desert of North Africa. My goal was to produce a work that is informational while showing the humanity of the local people through my perceptions as an outsider with different expectations. It was a time of discovery for me about the value of my upbringing and the positive aspects of American and Libyan culture. Our five months in Libya proved our strength and weakness. Libya was not what I expected. The people were hospitable beyond my experience. The customs at times were primitive and required an open mind. My children and I were the token Americans that summer who were invited to every wedding and birth. I was expected to attend many social events from circumcision celebrations to giving condolences along the side of my brother-in-law’s wife. Due to my American Christian upbringing I shared the moral values of Islam, which made it easy for me to become Muslim and live an Islamic life. At the same time, I could not fully accept all aspects of Libyan culture nor did my husband. Hadi rejected many things about his culture because it conflicted with Islam. My thesis did not come out the way I expected. It took a different direction from what I had original planned. It became focused on wedding traditions rather than on broader cultural contrasts.