Paper long abstract:

After the fall of Gaddafi in 2011, Libya's new authorities moved fast to reshape the state envisaged by the revolution: just and democratic. Many international partners offered their advice and assistance to 'establish the rule of law and good governance'. There was an obvious instant need for 'knowledge development', many consultancy reports were written, and projects initiated. However, when the euphoria grew quiet, violent conflict increased, and the state, in 2014, split in two parts, the projects stopped. This raises the questions of how this kind of international assistance relates to the domestic production of knowledge, and whether there would be ways to make this relationship a more stable, productive and relevant one. In this paper, the authors review and reflect on the experience of an eight-year-long international academic collaboration in this field initiated by scholars at the universities of Benghazi and Leiden, Netherlands. While a major part of its funding has been international, Libyan academic expertise on law, governance and society has been the point of departure - and destination. To analyse problems of injustice and failing governance, knowledge from different disciplines - law, social sciences and humanities - needs to be integrated. To enhance actual application of such knowledge, the involvement of Libyan stakeholders is required. Such efforts have been made in the current research project 'The role of law in Libya's national reconciliation'. Researchers have focused on five main themes, i.e. national identity, national governance, decentralization, transitional justice, and security forces. To demonstrate the approaches, opportunities and constraints of this kind of knowledge production, the paper zooms in on a specific part of the research, i.e. on decentralisation. The paper concludes that for sustainable improvements in justice and state-building an effective communication within the triangle of national government, domestic knowledge institutions, and 'the international community' is highly desirable.

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