Jamahiriya is a type or form of political and social structure of the state, which is non-standard, since it differs from the usual monarchy or republic. What is the peculiarity of this system? You will get the answer to this question in this article.
What is jamahiriya? Definition
The basics of the Jamahiriya were outlined in the Green Book, authored by ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In the Third World Theory, he described not only the essence of the state system, but also gave reasons for why the Jamahiriya is the best type of state and social system. In some countries, it is still the basis of statehood.
The very word "Jamahiriya" is a neologism, derived from the Arabic "Jamahir", meaning "the masses." This word was replaced by the standard for the republican system "dzhumhur" - "people". Thus, the replacement of the concept of “people” with a larger “mass” became derivative for the appearance of the term “jamahiriya”.
The Jamahiriya itself is very interesting and promising if implemented in accordance with the theoretical canons set forth by M. Gaddafi himself.
Features of the system
People who are far from politics and government have a poor understanding of the difference between the Jamahiriya and the republic, and most do not even know about the existence of such a political system.
The most striking example of the Jamahiriya is Libya. She began to adhere to this system back in the 70s. XX century, and the Jamahiriya was overthrown in 2011. In it, standard state institutions were abolished. National committees and congresses were created throughout the country, and the whole country was divided into communes, which were self-governing parts of Libya. In fact, these were mini-states that had all the power in their territory, right up to the disposal of their budget.
Every citizen had the right to express his opinion at a meeting of Congress. From this it becomes clear that the Libyan Jamahiriya was a kind of federation of communes.
History of the Jamahiriya in Libya
Libya proclaimed itself a country with a state system based on the Jamahiriya on March 2, 1977.
In 1988, the Libyan Jamahiriya adopted the Great Green Charter on human rights in the era of the Jamahiriya. However, Islam had a very big influence on the legal part of the country. It was based on the ideas of Islamic socialism, so it is safe to say that in Libya at that time there was a socialist Jamahiriya.
In the late 80s. in Libya, army reform was carried out, which led to the abolition of the regular army. As a result, the Jamahiriya Guard was created.
The history of the Libyan Jamahiriya was terminated in October 2011, as the official political system was abolished, and the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed.
Criticism
Despite the fact that the ideas of the Arab Jamahiriya were quite interesting and promising at first glance, the world community perceived this system rather skeptically. Most politically interested and active people in the world were critical of the Jamahiriya, believing that it was not viable in the modern world.
Within Libya itself, there was a significant opposition stratum, which was set up quite radical, sometimes even revolutionary. As a result, the Jamahiriya was abolished not only in Libya, where it was officially adopted as a form of government, but also in many other countries that adhered to its ideas informally.
The main argument against the Jamahiriya was that this system, hiding behind the ideas of democracy, disguises a totalitarian system.
Jamahiriya: Country Examples
The only country where this form of government has become official is Libya. However, in some neighboring Arab countries, the ideas of Libyan socialism formulated by its leader also leaked. For example, some aspects of this ideology were adopted in Tunisia, Egypt and other Islamic countries.
But in no other state has the jamahiriya been officially legalized. Today, the Jamahiriya is a form of government and social order that does not exist in practice. It has virtually ceased to exist since 2011.
However, the world community now knows the theoretical and practical side of the form of government of the Jamahiriya. Only Libya is an example of a country that has experienced the influence of this ideology.
Inconsistencies of ideological ideas of reality
The “revolutionary sector" that existed in Libya was an opposition-minded citizen of the country. In fact, he played the role of the leading party in states with a one-party political system.
Despite. that the Jamahiriya is, in theory, the power of every resident of the country who should take part in the government, in fact the absolute sole power in the country belonged to Muammar Gaddafi, who was not only the creator of this ideology, but also the permanent leader of Libya for several decades.
Although in reality the system was overthrown in Libya at the end of 2011, officially the country continued to be called the Jamahiriya until 2013.
Some political experts believe that in theory the ideas of the Jamahiriya are very interesting and could be fully implemented in practice with the proper approach, however, what the Libyan leadership was was almost the exact opposite - they covered up with good ideas a totalitarian system with a strong cult of leader countries.
Libyan flag
Muammar Gaddafi came to power in the country during the famous Green Revolution, so the green color on the flag of Libya symbolizes not only the commitment of the country's inhabitants to Islam, but also is a sign of respect for the events of the revolution.
In 1977, Libya withdrew from the Federation of Arab Republics, where it was at that time. The reason for the withdrawal from its composition was the official visit of Anwar Sadat (the leader of Egypt at that time) to Israel unfriendly to them.
The completely green monotonous color of the Jamahiriya flag signified a limitless commitment to Islamic dogma.
Libya today
After the civil war and the overthrow of the Jamahiriya in the country, power passed into the hands of the National Transitional Council, which was created during the life of Gaddafi. This interim governing body was called upon to resolve the situation in the country destroyed by the civil war.
Today, under the leadership of the Transitional Council is the 31 largest city in Libya, so in fact the interim government exercises control in the country. In 2012, at the initiative of this body and under its leadership, the first general political elections were held in the country.
Interesting Facts
It is interesting that before the start of the civil war in the country, the holidays were considered the days when the American and English military bases were evacuated, the day of the Egyptian revolution, which took place in 1952.
During the reign of M. Gaddafi, Libyan students could count on educational subsidies at any university in the world, which were paid by the government. Moreover, not only the education itself in any educational institution was free, but also accommodation and meals, for which the student was allocated $ 2,300 per month.
Before the Gaddafi government was overthrown, every Libyan at birth received a lump sum of $ 7,000.
An interesting fact is that during the years of the Jamahiriya in the country there were special police units whose task was to prevent the presence of expired goods on sale.
You could get the death penalty for counterfeiting drugs. Today, this law, like all others that existed under the Jamahiriya, has lost its force.
When the Jamahiriya was an official state system in Libya, citizens were exempted from housing and communal payments, and education and medicine, including medicines, were also completely free.
In Libya, it is customary to eat only 2 times a day: morning and afternoon. For this reason, many restaurants and cafes do not work in the evenings, because all the same, no one will go to them at this time of day.
Something else interesting about Libya
Before the civil war, Libya was considered one of the most economically prosperous countries in Africa. The standard of living in the country was approaching the level of the Arab oil exporting countries, since Libya has fairly large oil fields.
The government of the Jamahiriya had a grandiose idea for the construction of the Great Artificial River, the purpose of which was to combat the shortage of fresh water in the country. However, the idea was never realized, since M. Gaddafi was overthrown.
The most beloved sport in Libya is football, which is played here from early childhood. The Libyan team has shown considerable success in this sport.
The influence of the Jamahiriya and its overthrow
Despite the fact that there were quite a few people in Libya who were dissatisfied with Gaddafi’s undivided power, the majority nevertheless supported his system, since during the years of his reign the level of well-being of residents has increased markedly. But, instigated by Western media and opposition-minded citizens, the masses began a riot, which later resulted in a civil war.
During this war, the Jamahiriya ceased to exist in Libya, so today there is not a single state in the world where this system is considered officially recognized.
After the overthrow of Gaddafi, the economically prosperous and rapidly developing Libya began to lag significantly behind. Pro-Western foundations were introduced, so now the country is in transition. Due to the huge financial and material losses, the consequences of which are still not fixed, the standard of living in the country has significantly decreased.
For all subsequent years, it was not possible to restore economic indicators that were before the civil war. Despite the fact that the transitional government, which now leads Libya, does not seek to lose, but to increase the economic successes achieved with the previous leadership, it turned out to be not so easy to put into practice.
The destruction and losses from the civil war are very great, so many buildings, enterprises and institutions are still not fully operational or abandoned.
Finally
The Jamahiriya is an excellent example of the fact that human society has not yet fully exhausted its ideas and resources. Even despite the several millennia of the existence of statehood and politics as such, new forms of government nevertheless arise, which, unfortunately, do not always work in practice as intended in theory.
There is no unequivocal opinion on the Jamahiriya. Whether this system was good or not, not one analyst can say with certainty. However, it is clearly evident that over the years of Gaddafi’s rule, the country has transformed from a poor African to a rich oil exporting country.
However, at the same time as successes in economic terms, the state experienced a rigidly totalitarian form of government in which the ruling power exerted influence on absolutely all aspects of citizens' life. The media were severely censored, and many of the freedoms familiar to Westerners were banned here. For example, freedom of speech or religion, although they were not prohibited by law, were actually under the scrutiny of the authorities, which made it difficult for many residents to live in the country.
With the overthrow of the Jamahiriya, a whole era has passed in the history of mankind, especially the Arab world. Perhaps the ideological principles of this teaching will be used by some other state in the future, but at the moment this system is not officially used anywhere else.