Editing Libya (section)

=== Foreign relations ===
{{Main|Foreign relations of Libya}}
Libya's foreign policies have fluctuated since 1951. As a kingdom, Libya maintained a definitively pro-Western stance and was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States (the present-day [[Arab League]]), of which it became a member in 1953.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ly0036) |title=Independent Libya |publisher=Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress |access-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120922002614/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+ly0036) |archive-date=22 September 2012  }}</ref> The government was also friendly towards Western countries such as the United Kingdom, United States, [[French Fifth Republic|France]], [[First Italian Republic|Italy]], and [[Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg)|Greece]], and established full diplomatic relations with the [[Soviet Union]] in 1955.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Zoubir|first=Yahia|year=2009|title=Libya and Europe: Economic Realism at the Rescue of the Qaddafi Authoritarian Regime|journal=Journal of Contemporary European Studies|volume=17|issue=3|pages=401–415|doi=10.1080/14782800903339354|s2cid=153625134}}</ref> Although the government supported Arab causes, including the Moroccan and Algerian independence movements, it took little active part in the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] or the tumultuous inter-Arab politics of the 1950s and early 1960s. The kingdom was noted for its close association with the West, while it steered a conservative course at home.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get7.cgi?directory=Fall00/&filename=Abadi.htm |title=Pragmatism and Rhetoric in Libya's Policy Toward Israel |author=Abadi, Jacob |publisher=The Journal of Conflict Studies: Volume XX Number 1 Fall 2000, University of New Brunswick |year=2000 |access-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330001903/http://www.lib.unb.ca/Texts/JCS/bin/get7.cgi?directory=Fall00%2F&filename=Abadi.htm |archive-date=30 March 2012  }}</ref>

After the 1969 [[coup d'état]], [[Muammar Gaddafi]] closed American and British bases and partly [[Nationalization|nationalized]] foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya. Gaddafi was known for backing a number of leaders viewed as anathema to [[Westernization]] and [[political liberalism]], including [[History of Uganda (1971–79)|Ugandan]] president [[Idi Amin]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Idi Amin speaks: an annotated selection of his speeches|author1=Idi Amin |author2=Benoni Turyahikayo-Rugyema |year=1998|publisher=African Studies Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison |isbn=978-0-942615-38-8}}</ref> [[Central African Empire|Central African]] emperor [[Jean-Bédel Bokassa]],<ref name="stanik23">{{Cite book|title=El Dorado Canyon: Reagan's undeclared war with Qaddafi|author=Joseph T. Stanik|year=2003|publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-55750-983-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/eldoradocanyonre00stan}}</ref><ref name="leedavis16">{{Cite book |title=Qaddafi, terrorism, and the origins of the U.S. attack on Libya |url=https://archive.org/details/qaddafiterrorism00davi |url-access=registration |author=Lee Davis, Brian |year=1990 |page=[https://archive.org/details/qaddafiterrorism00davi/page/16 16]|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780275933029 }}</ref> [[Derg|Ethiopian]] strongman [[Haile Mariam Mengistu]],<ref name="leedavis16" /> Liberian president [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]],<ref name="economistfall">{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441341 |title= How the mighty are falling |access-date= 17 July 2007 |date= 5 July 2007 |newspaper= The Economist |location= London |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071012003829/http://economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9441341 |archive-date= 12 October 2007 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> and [[Serbia and Montenegro/History|Yugoslav]] president [[Slobodan Milošević]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.alb-net.com/kcc/102699.htm |title=Gaddafi Given Yugoslavia's Top Medal By Milosevic |date=26 October 1999 |agency=Reuters |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515031023/http://www.alb-net.com/kcc/102699.htm |archive-date=15 May 2011  }}</ref>
{{multiple image |total_width=450 |image1=Mutassim_Gadaffi_Hillary_Clinton.jpg |caption1=Libyan National Security Advisor [[Mutassim Gaddafi]] and US Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]], April 2009
|image2=Secretary Kerry, UK Foreign Secretary Hague Hold News Conference With Libyan Prime Minister Ziedan (11035773394).jpg |caption2=UK Foreign Secretary [[William Hague]] with Libyan Prime Minister [[Ali Zeidan]] and US Secretary of State [[John Kerry]], November 2013}}
Relations with the West were strained for most of Gaddafi's rule,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7967820/Yvonne-Fletcher-killer-may-be-brought-to-justice.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |first=Gordon |last=Rayner |title=Yvonne Fletcher killer may be brought to justice |date=28 August 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100831015645/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/7967820/Yvonne-Fletcher-killer-may-be-brought-to-justice.html |archive-date=31 August 2010  }}</ref><ref name="autogenerated183">{{Cite book|title=Qaddafi, terrorism, and the origins of the U.S. attack on Libya.|author=Lee Davis, Brian |page=183}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Proclamation 4907 – Imports of Petroleum |publisher= US Office of the Federal Register |date= 10 March 1982 |url= http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/31082a.htm |author= President Ronald Reagan |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080306063835/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1982/31082a.htm |archive-date= 6 March 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> with incidents including the killing of [[City of London Police|London]] policewoman [[Yvonne Fletcher]], the [[1986 Berlin discotheque bombing|bombing]] of a [[West Berlin]] nightclub frequented by US servicemen, and the bombing of [[Pan Am Flight 103]] leading to UN sanctions in the 1990s; by the late 2000s, the United States and other Western powers had normalised relations with Libya.<ref name="SalakLibya" /> Gaddafi's decision to abandon the pursuit of [[weapons of mass destruction]] after the [[Iraq War]] saw [[History of Iraq under Ba'athist rule|Iraqi dictator]] [[Saddam Hussein]] overthrown and put on trial led to Libya being hailed as a success for Western [[soft power]] initiatives in the [[War on Terror]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3566545.stm |title=Blair hails new Libyan relations |work=BBC News |date=25 March 2004 |access-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307231343/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3566545.stm |archive-date=7 March 2013  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Marcus |first=Jonathan |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4774305.stm |title=Washington's Libyan fairy tale |work=BBC News |date=15 May 2006 |access-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116095214/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4774305.stm |archive-date=16 January 2013  }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/23/opinion/why-libya-gave-up-on-the-bomb.html |title=Why Libya Gave Up on the Bomb |work=The New York Times |date=23 January 2004 |access-date=24 February 2011 |first=Flynt |last=Leverett |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401183534/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/23/opinion/why-libya-gave-up-on-the-bomb.html |archive-date=1 April 2011  }}</ref> In October 2010, Gaddafi apologized to African leaders on behalf of Arab nations for their involvement in the [[trans-Saharan slave trade]].<ref name="France 24 2010">{{cite web | title=Gaddafi warns Sudan secession would be dangerous for Africa | website=France 24 | date=10 Oct 2010 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/20101010-muammar-gaddafi-sudan-secession-danger-africa-libya | access-date=25 Jun 2021 | archive-date=28 June 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628090731/https://www.france24.com/en/20101010-muammar-gaddafi-sudan-secession-danger-africa-libya | url-status=live }}</ref>

Libya is included in the European Union's [[European Neighbourhood Policy]] (ENP), which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer. Libyan authorities rejected European Union's plans aimed at stopping [[Immigration to Europe|migration from Libya]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Libya rejects EU plans for migrant centers on its territory |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya/libya-rejects-eu-plans-for-migrant-centers-on-its-territory-idUSKBN1KA0X3 |work=Reuters |date=20 July 2018 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829212223/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya/libya-rejects-eu-plans-for-migrant-centers-on-its-territory-idUSKBN1KA0X3 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Libyan authorities oppose EU migrant plans |url=https://euobserver.com/migration/136837 |work=EUobserver |date=8 February 2017 |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-date=26 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526205253/https://euobserver.com/migration/136837 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, Libya signed the UN [[treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}</ref>