Libyan Revolution

Abstract

Muammar al-Gaddafi has always distinguished between a revolution and a coup d’état: the distinction is unremarkable but worth noting. A coup is usually nothing more than a transfer of power from one dictatorial group to another, though in some cases this may be accompanied by a change of regime that has wider implications. A revolution, by contrast, involves not only a transfer of power but also a total reshaping of society according to a new philosophy. In this view a revolution represents the end of one system of values and assumptions, a fresh beginning in the history of a nation.¹There can be no doubt that in this sense Gaddafi made a revolution.