On 11 September, massive floods created by Storm Daniel ruptured two dams built in the Seventies to protect Derna in eastern Libya, exposing its denizens to unstoppable torrents of water. Such analysis of Libya as a “failed state” is a longstanding characterisation in the West, and has similarly been revived in recent months as an explanation for the renewed flow of refugees to Europe. Sign inBut while blaming this on the breakdown of governance in Libya is a logical first step, we mustn’t stop there. The resolution authorised a military operation — led by Nato but including states outside the alliance — whose remit was to protect Libyan civilians. But the countries that spearheaded the 2011 intervention were not nearly as enthusiastic about the former as they were about the latter.
