Libya seems to be trapped in endless conflict between rival militias and outside powers, with migrants trapped in neo-slavery and others drowning in the Mediteranean trying to flee to the European. Prior to the 2011 Arab uprisings and subsequent NATO regime change operation that destroyed the country, most outsiders knew little of Libya except for its caricature as a bizarre authoritarian country led by the idiosyncratic Gaddafi. But history did not start in 2011. To understand the Libya of today requires going back many decades.To discuss how and why the US-led imperial order destroyed Libya, Rania Khalek was joined by Matteo Capasso, a Marie Curie Research Fellow between the University of Venice and Columbia University. Matteo’s latest article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09692290.2022.2028180?journalCode=rrip20 TIME CODES:0:00 Intro2:06 Libya’s Jamahiriya 6:00 Impact of sanctions and international isolation on Libya’s economy 12:28 Accomplishments of Gaddafi and Libya’s revolution 18:04 Understanding Libya through the context of imperialism21:01 Dependency on oil26:08 Hybrid war 30:19 Impact of 1973 civil war in Chad37:02 Capitalism & Libya’s ideological contradiction 40:08 Religious extremism & tribal groups47:52 Support for national liberation & then collaboration in war on terror53:12 Centrality of war & militarism to US capitalism58:37 Emergence of militias in Libya1:00:58 How imperialism underlies the ongoing destruction of Libya1:06:47 2011 uprising: What really happened?1:11:50 Libya’s destruction destabilized Africa