Introduction
Muammar Qadhafi is, and has been for decades, an important actor on the world-stage. Qadhafi has played a major role not only in Libya, but in the Middle East, the Arab and Islamic worlds, as well as in Africa. He has been a notable and newsworthy person during all this time—one of the most recognizable individuals on the planet. In addition to being a man of action, Qadhafi has also been a man of ideas. He has made significant efforts to think through many of the critical political and philosophical issues of the day, and to publish his thinking to a broader audience. As is the case of many individuals who are prominent actors in the world, Qadhafi is well known but is poorly understood, particularly in the West. It is important that he be better understood, particularly so that the West gains a more accurate and balanced understanding of his actions and ideas. Increased understanding will further a more open dialogue with benefit to all the parties involved.
In an effort to gain this better understanding, there should be a real campaign to enhance the quality of the communication about Qadhafi’s political and philosophical views. Monitor, in concert with a number of independent academics and intellectuals, began this process of dialogue in 2006-2007 with a program that included visits of renowned academics to Libya for direct conversations with Muammar Qadhafi, increasing the dialogue directly and through the accompanying media coverage and publications.. In the spirit of building upon what has been achieved, the following proposal seeks to further the process on two tracks.
First, this proposal presents an action plan to enhance and deepen the dialogue by re-engaging selected expert thinkers, some who visited Libya on the previous program, and some who have not yet had the opportunity to come to Libya. Secondly, this proposal presents a plan to research, write and publish a book about Muammar Qadhafi, the man and his ideas, with some likely ancillary publications as well. While there have been publication efforts in the past, most have fallen short of the mark. The time has come to realize this goal in a systematic, high-quality way with the best dialogue partners and supporting research. This proposal defines a campaign that combines a limited but renewed program of expert visits with the creation of a book designed to be a signature text on Muammar Qadhafi and his ideas. This campaign is designed to achieve maximum effectiveness through the combination of the network of leading thinkers with the publication of the book in time for the fortieth anniversary of the Libyan revolution in September 2009.
http://www.economicprincipals.com/issues/2011.03.27/1248.html
