Description
The paper will examine the different forms of transnational recognition occurring in the Libyan civil war(s) since 2011. It is based on a non-dualistic and non-legal conceptualisation of transnational recognition drawing on Hegelian-inspired recognition theory. This provides a new angle to approach the transnational dimensions of civil war in primarily social-relational terms, besides domestic security dilemmas and political economy factors. From such point of view, there exist social and relational forms of recognition that result from a domestic actor’s accumulation of transnational engagements and interactions, without necessarily ever crossing a specific threshold or benchmark, or obtaining a legal stamp. Also, as a matter of fact and irrespective of intent, ‘engagement without recognition’ (Ker-Lindsay 2015) is never absolutely possible. That is even truer in situations of civil war where, conspicuously, ‘a catch-22 of sorts exists between the prevailing legal interpretation and practice’ concerning the rebels’ formal diplomatic status (Coggins 2015). Based on interviews with diplomats and international officials appointed to Libya, the paper will propose a typology of the causal mechanisms driving transnational recognition, e.g. framing, normative persuasion, strategic calculation and logics of on-the-ground practicality. This will be followed by a discussion of the international community’s dilemmas in recognising and engaging with Libyan political actors (dual recognition, coherence vs. inclusivity), economic/energy actors (only area of relative consistency around single authority), hybrid security actors (dual recognition at institutional level, ad hoc engagement in practice) and migration actors (humanitarian engagement vs. withdrawal).
