91AV

The on March 17, 2011, published an invited op-ed column from Professor Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, Ph.D., chair of of 91AV's Department of Political Science. In the column, titled "Why Quaddafi Has Already Lost," Ahmida writes, "Whether or not Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi defeats the rebels in eastern Libya, any legitimacy he once had has been extinguished. He has weapons, tanks and planes, but he has lost the allegiance of even those elements of Libyan society that had once been willing to wait and hope for political reform. His base of support is now only diehard allies and foreign mercenaries."

Ahmida explains the historical context of Qaddafi's rise to power as a populist, the progress Libya made under the regime in the 1970s, and the regime's increased authoritarianism and use of violence beginning in the 1980s, which increasingly led to discontent among Libya's urban middle class. With regard to the current uprising, Ahmida writes: "Once his army and police shot at protesters, the pent-up disaffection of Libyan society was unleashed, and it is too late for the regime to bottle it up."

Ahmida was also interviewed on The Real News for a March 17th segment titled "Gaddafi: From Popular Hero to Isolated Dictator."

Ahmida continues to be interviewed in depth by a number of national, international and local media outlets for his insights on the Libyan uprising. His interviews include NPR's Morning Edition, Weekend Edition and Charlie Rose show, CBC Radio Canada, KPFK Pacifica Radio, Los Angeles, WBEZ Chicago Public Media, Mother Jones magazine and more. Ahmida, who was born in Libya, is the author of The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonialization and Resistance, and several other books on Libya and North Africa. Find out more about Ahmida and read and listen to a number of his other recent interviews.