The killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi is the end of a political era in Libya
Chatham House | 2026-02-22 | diplomacy
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English Summary
Chatham House argues that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s killing ends the last credible political center of gravity for Libya’s pro-Gaddafi camp and signals deeper power consolidation, not national reset. The analysis says his practical influence had faded since 2021, but his symbolic legitimacy and potential electoral comeback still threatened both the Tripoli-based GNU and Haftar-aligned actors. It also finds that Saif was the only figure able to unify fragmented “Green” constituencies, so his death weakens their collective leverage and eases Haftar family efforts to tighten command structures. For policy, the near-term risk is limited retaliatory violence, while the bigger strategic implication is a more entrenched elite order that complicates reconciliation, credible elections, and inclusive governance.
中文摘要
查塔姆研究所（Chatham House）認為，賽義夫・伊斯蘭・格達費遭殺害，意味著利比亞親格達費陣營最後一個仍具可信度的政治重心已告終結，這反映的是更深層的權力整固，而非國家重啟。分析指出，自2021年以來其實際影響力已衰退，但其象徵性正當性與潛在的選舉回歸能力，仍對以的黎波里為基地的民族團結政府（GNU）及與哈夫塔爾結盟的行動者構成威脅。報告亦認為，賽義夫是唯一能整合分裂「綠色」支持群體的人物，因此其死亡削弱了這些群體的集體槓桿，並使哈夫塔爾家族更易收緊指揮體系。政策層面上，短期風險是有限的報復性暴力；更大的戰略意涵則是菁英秩序進一步固化，從而使和解、可信選舉與包容性治理更加困難。
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