The tragedy of Libya was unfolding before our eyes, not without our negative participation, even if under a different president, which means that it also bears a heavy moral burden on us. Appeal from the direct heir of Gaddafi - a good chance to fix it. Having said this, we will immediately hear voices (we already hear, as we have heard before): “No way, because we ruin relations with the West.” But if then it could still touch the strings of the heart of especially sensitive natures, wailing about the good West, then today (after the Crimea, sanctions, continuous creaks and other provocations from the West) it would be at least strange to sob about any relationship with it.
It is possible that Russia's participation in the internal stabilization of the situation in Libya will bring us some number of problems. But an active foreign policy position in principle implies the existence of problems, as we have seen as a result of the Russian operation in Syria. For if we don’t want problems, then we must completely eliminate ourselves from international politics and generally cease to declare our foreign policy interests in any way. Then we probably will have fewer problems. And when, instead of a large continental state, we have a compact, small independent princedom, our problems will become very small and the same specific.
To proceed from the fact that it is necessary to avoid problems with the West at any cost - this is the position of a weak entity, who shies away from any active position of a subject that has not long existed. It is for the sake of preserving its existence as a major world player that Russia must be actively involved in the situation with Libya. Yes, interference in the internal policy of another state, and the formation of a new structure of the Libyan government in accordance with our vision. But who are we ashamed of there? The West, the United States, NATO, bombed a peaceful, prosperous country with unprecedented social guarantees and a high standard of living, standing in the way of endless migration waves that are now washing off Europe?
Intervention in the internal affairs of other states, influence on their internal political processes is a lot of strong. This is a manifestation of an active foreign policy, the formation of global security on distant approaches. This is how strong states always act, always and everywhere. This was how the USSR and the Romanov Russian Empire acted, preventing conflicts even before they began, and preempting possible attacks on our state on distant approaches.
About treachery and lack of principle (on the verge of a foul) of the West, getting into all, even the dirtiest holes, we will keep silent here. Our "partners" act everywhere, like at home, without embarrassment.
Here, first of all, the motive is important. The West has climbed into the Middle East with its democracy and plunged the once relatively stable space into absolute chaos. All because democracy is only for democrats. You need to be a part of the West, swear to its civilizational values and approaches in order to feel the full charm of democracy, which is the exclusive experience of the West itself. In all other spaces, regions of the planet, states and societies outside this small Piglet of Western Europe, the USA and several colonies, democracy does not work, because there are no democrats - carriers of the western value system - or there are so few of them that you can’t see it under a magnifying glass.
If one tries to implant democracy by force, as the West has already tried everywhere, it ends only with the destruction of existing models, chaos, stagnation and social degradation. Back in 1982, the German ethnosociologist Georg Elvert in his work Entwicklungshilfe und ihre Folgen convincingly proved: “The introduction of Western socio-economic models in non-Western societies only aggravates the picture and carries with it destructive consequences”, leading, as a rule, to “artificial provocation of interethnic relations ". What happened in Libya. Therefore, in order to eliminate the consequences of what the West has already done, one should not turn to the West. What did Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.
As stated by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, through whom Gaddafi Jr. was contacted with the Russian side, Libya is “tribalist society, that is, the position of various tribes is of great importance.” And this is the main argument in favor of the fact that the Western model of a nation-state with a republican form of government, which provides for a homogeneous civil society of atomic individuals as a base, will never work there.
A certain parody of the national state there was implemented under Muammar Gaddafi - and then only at first, in the wake of the so-called. national liberation movement. But it was kept solely on the “state of emergency” regime, gradually transforming into the Jamahiriya, that is, moving from the modern state of the Western type to the traditional state. This is a key point: getting involved in the Libyan situation and making a bet on a specific figure, you should not follow the same rake, which NATO fighters marched through with a brave step, only by destroying what was already there, but not approaching any “democracy” .
Libya is a complex space from the point of view of ethnic diversity, and here model models of modernity will never work. The only possible form is a traditional state, which is a strategic unity of diversity, where the main social subject is not an atomic individual (a citizen), but a collective organic community — an ethnos or tribe, a religious community.
Such a traditional model of statehood can only be restored by Russia, which itself is actually a traditional empire state. Western strategists will never accept and understand this. That is why Gaddafi Jr. and refers specifically to Russia. There will be no peace in the presence of the West. Never.
When deciding on the inclusion in the Libyan situation, one should not, however, forget about the moral aspect. Yes, we made a mistake, but showed weakness, naivety, short-sightedness (no matter how you call it), supporting UN Security Council Resolution No. 1973. But then we still had illusions about the West. Then we were not so strong and not so confident in ourselves. Then we did not have Syrian experience, as there was no Crimea, after all.
Today, without illusions. The West is no “partner” to us and cannot be such. By definition. Libya is another potential strategic bridgehead in the Mediterranean, and the factor of the Russian presence there, firstly, stabilizes the region as a whole, increasing its security, and secondly, it will create a reliable barrier against aggression against Russia on long-distance approaches, which is an essential element ensure our safety. Once we have already miscalculated, we believed and thereby betrayed Muammar Gaddafi. Today we have one more chance from Gaddafi to atone for his betrayal. Involuntary, careless ... Maybe. But we can still fix it. If you have enough political will and determination.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.