NATO ruined Libya, but couldn’t break it |
To an outside observer, Libya is a map of fractured jurisdictions. Yet, beneath the surface, a singular, invisible nervous system keeps the lights on. This is the ultimate Libyan irony: although the state is politically decapitated, its financial heart beats with pragmatic regularity. Libya survives through a ‘functioning paradox’ – held together not by political consensus, but by a ‘tripod of resilience’ that transcends the front lines.
This survivalist state is supported by the three pillars: the central bank, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) and the judiciary, and, collectively, they refuse to buckle while keeping the unity.
The unified central bank remains the country’s sole national coffer, where all oil revenues are collected and distributed; the stakes of a total collapse are simply too high for any faction to risk, as it would mean an immediate end to the public salaries that sustain millions on both sides of the front lines. Following his appointment in 2024, new Governor Naji Issa has successfully convened the CBL Board of Directors with representatives from across the political divide – a rare feat of institutional reconciliation that had not been seen for nearly a decade.
The same logic applies to the NOC, the country’s sole legitimate oil exporter, which provides roughly 97% of Libya’s total income. While there have been multiple attempts by rival factions to establish parallel oil companies, these efforts have consistently failed due to a combination of domestic technical resistance and a firm international refusal to recognize any oil sales outside the unified Tripoli-based structure. UN Resolution 2362 specifically condemns attempts to illicitly export petroleum by parallel institutions and reiterates the international community’s concern over any activities that could ‘damage’ the integrity and unity of the NOC.
And the third and the most important leg of the tripod is the judiciary, which still speaks a single language across the distance separating Tripoli from Tobruk. Despite the immense pressure from the local faction in the east and west of the country to break it up,........