Third International Theory

The Third International Theory, also known as the Third Universal Theory (), was the style of government proposed by Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was inspired by Islamic socialism, Arab nationalism, African nationalism and the principles of direct democracy.
The Third International Theory was meant to be an alternative to capitalism and communism, which Gaddafi felt were not appropriate for the countries of the Third World (not allies with either the US or the Soviet Union).
In 2011, the Libyan government based on this political theory was overthrown and Gaddafi was killed.
Background.
Historical context.
In the 1960s and 70s, an ideology called Islamic socialism became popular in the Arab world. People believed that socialism should be combined with the principles of Islam so that there would be a more fair and just world. Many people believed that capitalism and communism were both disrespectful of Islam and allowed other countries to control them.
On September 1, 1969, a group of Libyan army officers overthrew the king and established a republic. This republic was ruled by a Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) that was led by a young colonel whose name was Muammar Gadaffi.
The revolution was against imperialism. On October 7, they told the UN that foreign bases would not be allowed on Libyan soil.
In 1973, the country was renamed Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. "Jamahiriya" is an Arabic word that means "People's Republic."
Beliefs.
The beliefs of the Third International Theory are described in Gadaffi's "Green Book". The book is divided into three parts:
"People Power".
The first part of "The Green Book" is called "Solving the problem of democracy: The Authority of the People." The theory says that a country should not be holding a referendum, have a political party, or have a parliament. Gaddafi believed that these are not things a true democracy should have.
People's Congress.
In the Jamahiriya, everyone is part of the People's Congresses, which then elect the People's Committees. The Committees then elect the next Congresses, which then elect the State Committees, which run the government. Once a year, the People's Congresses meet up at the General People's Congress, which makes decisions and where issues are discussed.
Freedom of Speech.
Gadaffi believed that everyone should have the right to speak their minds, no matter how irrational their beliefs are. He believed that having freedom of speech was important for democracy.
Socialism.
The second part of the book, "The solution of the economic problem (Socialism)," explains the economic parts of the Third International Theory.
Society.
Women.
"The Green Book" talks about women, specifically:
Gaddafi said that "human rights are for everyone—men and women, but the responsibilities are not equal."
Black people.
Gadaffi believed that Black people would rule the world and that there is nothing anyone can do to prevent them from doing so. He says they will take over because they accept polygamy and reject birth control.
As time went on, Libya started to associate itself more with the rest of Africa than with the Arab world.
Sports.
For this reason, stadiums were only open for military parades and wrestling was banned in Libya.
Islam.
"The Green Book" does not talk about Islam. However, Gaddafi said that the validity of Islam was to be shown by how much it matches the Third International Theory. He said, "if we were to restrict ourselves to the support of Muslims only, that would be an example of bigotry and selfishness: True Islam is the one that defends the weak, even if they are not Muslims"
Application in Libya.
Gaddafi tried to put the Third International Theory into practice in Libya. He called the government based on the theory "Jamahiriya" (), which means "people's republic" or "state of the masses." It is different from "Jumhuriyah" (), which is the Arabic word for "republic." He wanted to show that the government system based on the Third International Theory was different from all previous forms of government (specifically monarchies and republics).