Changes

==Government and Political Conditions==

==Government and Political Conditions==

===Gaddafi regime 1969 - 2011===

===Gaddafi regime 1969 - 2011===

Prior to the 2011 revolution, Libya's political system was in theory based on the political philosophy in Gaddafi's Green Book, which combined socialist and Islamic theories and rejected parliamentary democracy and political parties. In reality, Gaddafi exercised near total control over major government decisions. For the first seven years following the revolution, Colonel Gaddafi and 12 fellow army officers, the Revolutionary Command Council, began a complete overhaul of Libya's political system, society and economy. In 1973, he announced the start of a "cultural revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. On March 2, 1977, Gaddafi convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of "people's power," change the country's name to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC.  

Prior to the 2011 revolution, Libya's political system was in theory based on the political philosophy in Gaddafi's Green Book, which combined socialist and Islamic theories and rejected parliamentary democracy and political parties. In reality, Gaddafi exercised near total control over major government decisions. For the first seven years following the revolution, Colonel Gaddafi and 12 fellow army officers, the Revolutionary Command Council, began a complete overhaul of Libya's political system, society and economy. In 1973, he announced the start of a "cultural revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. On March 2, 1977, Gaddafi convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of "people's power," change the country's name to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC.  

[[File:Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi in Dimashq.jpg|thumb|left|Muammar Gaddafi.]]

[[File:Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi in Dimashq.jpg|thumb|left|Muammar Gaddafi.]]

In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in Libya's war with Chad, Gaddafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate.  

In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in Libya's war with Chad, Gaddafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate.  

In the late 1980s, Gaddafi began to pursue an anti-Islamic fundamentalist policy domestically, viewing Islamist fundamentalism as a potential threat to the regime. Gaddafi's security forces launched a preemptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among the Warfallah tribe in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from fundamental Islamist opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Gaddafi's strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a failed coup attempt that implicated senior officers, Gaddafi began purges of Islamists from the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own loyal followers in their place.  

In the late 1980s, Gaddafi began to pursue an anti-Islamic fundamentalist policy domestically, viewing Islamist fundamentalism as a potential threat to the regime. Gaddafi's security forces launched a preemptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among the Warfallah tribe in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from fundamental Islamist opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Gaddafi's strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a failed coup attempt that implicated senior officers, Gaddafi began purges of Islamists from the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own loyal followers in their place.

===Libyan courts prior to Sharia law===

===Libyan courts prior to Sharia law===