Ali Ahmida interviewed by New York Times and Reuters on death of Muammar el-Qaddafi

Ali Abdullatif Ahmida, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, was interviewed by Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times and William Maclean of Reuters news service for Oct. 21, 2011 stories on the death of Libyan dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi. The two stories were picked up by more than 50 media outlets.

The New York Times story includes an overview of Qaddafi's years in power and notes that when Qaddafi came to power, the Libyan government forced the major oil companies to cede majority stakes in exchange for continued access to the country's oil fields, and it demanded a greater share of the profits.

Ahmida explains in the story that with the increased revenue, Qaddafi set about building roads, hospitals, schools and housing. And Libyans, who had suffered during the Italian occupation before World War II, were allowed to celebrate an anticolonial, Arab-nationalist sentiment that had been bottled up under the monarchy.

The Reuters story looks at the challenges that lie ahead in Libya. "This is an end of one era but the fight over the new government has started already," Ahmida told Reuters. "It all depends on how the NTC (National Transitional Council) leadership heals the country and reconciles people ... or takes revenge and settles scores. That may be a dangerous road."

Since the North African and Middle Eastern uprisings began in January, Ahmida has been interviewed by a number of media outlets, including spots on NPR's Morning Edition and Weekend Edition earlier this year, as well as the Charlie Rose show, CBC Radio Canada, KPFK Pacifica Radio, Los Angeles, WBEZ Chicago Public Media, Mother Jones magazine and more. He also wrote an invited column for the New York Times. Ahmida, who was born in Libya, is the author of The Making of Modern Libya: State Formation, Colonialization and Resistance, and several other books on Libya and North Africa.  Find out more about Ahmida and read and listen to a number of his other recent interviews.

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