International Relations & DiplomacyMiddle East & North AfricaPolicy Outlook

US Relations with Libya: What to Expect from the Biden Administration?

Written by: Ferhat Polat

This policy outlook aims to analyse US strategy in Libya post 2011 and also examines what President Biden’s new diplomatic approach will be in the country.

In 2011, the United States and its NATO allies supported an international military effort to topple the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. Since then, Washington has had limited engagement in Libya, and its policy has been mainly motivated by counterterrorism efforts and commercial interests. This policy outlook aims to analyse US strategy in Libya post 2011 and also examines what President Biden’s new diplomatic approach will be in the country. Washington’s various interests in Libya are examined and used to assess US policy in Libya and its effect on the Libyan conflict.​

Download the Policy Outlook

APA

MLA

Chicago

Ferhat Polat
Ferhat Polat
Ferhat Polat is a Chevening Scholar from the 2022 cohort and a researcher at the TRT World Research Centre. Holding an MA in Middle East Studies from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, he specializes in North African geopolitics and security, with a particular focus on Libya. Polat is often invited as a commentator on news channels and has contributed numerous essays and articles on geopolitical issues that have been published in various journals, newspapers, and digital outlets.

MORE FROM AUTHOR

Libya as a Theatre of Global and Regional Power Competition

The paper examines Libya’s transformation into a major arena of regional and global power competition since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The...

Corridors of Power: The Strategic Stakes of the Türkiye–Libya Deal

The 2019 maritime delimitation agreement between Türkiye and Libya represents a pivotal moment in the geopolitics of the Eastern Mediterranean. Signed between Türkiye and...

MORE FROM CURRENT CATEGORY

A Shield with Gaps: Sánchez’s Blocking Statute and the Limits of European Legal Protection for the ICC

Ihsan Faruk Kılavuz Ihsan Faruk Kılavuz -
This policy outlook argues that while Sánchez’s proposal is politically significant and normatively welcome, its practical utility is severely constrained by structural economic asymmetries...
Read more

Starved Twice: How Gaza’s Food Crisis Became a Weapon of War

Kübra Aktaş Kübra Aktaş -
Gaza’s worsening food crisis cannot be explained by shortage alone. This analysis argues that access restrictions, supply disruption, price inflation and infrastructure collapse have turned hunger into a broader crisis of survival, deepened by the wider regional escalation following the US/Israel War on Iran.
Read more

Containment Without Capacity: Sudan’s Displacement and the Limits of Border Politics

Kübra Aktaş Kübra Aktaş -
Sudan’s regional spillover cannot be understood solely through the lens of border control, refugee inflows, or humanitarian pressure. Rather, it reflects a broader governance...
Read more