Leaders | Libya

The next failed state

Another font of global mayhem is emerging—not helped by regional meddling and Western indifference

FOUR years after the beginning of what is now called the Arab spring only in a tone of bitter irony, almost all the countries involved are in a dire state. The sole exception is tiny Tunisia. For a while, things seemed to be improving in its sprawling oil-rich neighbour, Libya, too. But Libya is slipping fast—and its chaotic decline, like that in Syria, is already drawing in outsiders and posing a threat to the West.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "The next failed state"

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