Libya and the West

Libya and the West: What Everyone Needs to Know® focuses on Libya's diplomatic relationships with Western powers, providing explanations of Italian, British, U.S., and French policies toward Libya from the 1910s to the 2020s. It assesses how these four Western powers, alternately rivals and partners, implemented policies that advanced their own interests in the Middle East and North Africa and profoundly shaped the history of Libya. It brings insight and wisdom to such diverse historical actors as Benito Mussolini, Muammar Qaddafi, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama, and evaluates Western policies during such watershed events as World War II, the Cold War, the rise of Islamic extremism, and the Arab Spring. Libya and the West also examines the culture and social dynamics of modern Libya that shaped the state and its foreign policy, as well as the impact of international events on the well-being of the people of Libya.

Peter Hahn has published several books on the history of American diplomacy in the Middle East, most recently Missions Accomplished? The United States and Iraq since World War I and Crisis and Crossfire: The United States and the Middle East since 1945, as well as scores of articles, essays, and reviews. He has conducted research in the archives of the United States, Israel, Britain, and France; delivered scholarly papers and invited lectures in eleven countries; consulted with policymakers in the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Justice and with senior officers of the Ohio National Guard; and given interviews to the media on five continents.