The Theater of Stability: How Libya's Performative Governance Exposes the Failure of International Complicity

The Lavish Deception of December 12, 2025

On December 12, 2025, the world witnessed a grotesque spectacle in Tripoli—a multi-million dollar extravaganza featuring celebrity appearances, cultural events, and the lavish rehabilitation of Libya’s National Museum. Orchestrated under the banner of a “safe and stable Tripoli,” this performance was designed to project an image of normalcy and progress to international observers. Meanwhile, beneath the glittering surface, the reality for most Libyans remained one of profound suffering: inflation eroding purchasing power, volatile black-market exchange rates, scarce liquidity, and consistently delayed public sector wages that millions depend on for survival.

This event represents more than mere misallocated resources—it symbolizes the complete divorce between governance and citizen welfare in post-conflict Libya. The rehabilitation of cultural institutions while basic infrastructure collapses represents a particularly cruel form of political theater. As cities flood with every rainfall due to inadequate drainage and sewage systems, as hospitals lack basic medicines and equipment, and as educational institutions deteriorate beyond functionality, the priority given to museum renovations and celebrity appearances reveals a governance philosophy utterly disconnected from human needs.

The Reality Behind the Curtain

The article meticulously documents the stark contrast between the performed stability and lived reality. Public education and healthcare systems have deteriorated to such an extent that families are forced to seek private alternatives they cannot afford. The most revealing truth emerges during rainfall—when flooding and sewage overflows paralyze cities, exposing decades of neglect, corruption, and criminal misallocation of resources. This isn’t merely poor governance; it’s a fundamental betrayal of the social contract.

What makes this situation particularly concerning is the competitive nature of this performative governance. Rival authorities in eastern and western Libya appear locked in a parallel race to outdo each other with flashy events, celebrity attractions, and international media attention rather than delivering actual governance, security sector reform, or economic recovery. Stability has been reduced to a branding exercise—a commodity to be marketed to international audiences rather than a reality to be delivered to citizens.

The International Dimension of this Deception

This performance isn’t designed for Libyans—it’s choreographed for international consumption. Foreign diplomats, investors, and observers are the intended audience for this theater of stability. Yet this entire endeavor represents a profound misreading of international awareness. The global community is already acutely aware of Libya’s institutional fragility, militia dominance, and weak rule of law. No amount of celebrity appearances or museum renovations can conceal these fundamental realities.

The international community’s continued engagement with this charade represents complicity in maintaining this fiction. When Western governments and institutions lend credibility to these performances through their presence and participation, they effectively validate a system that prioritizes spectacle over substance. This dynamic recalls the worst traditions of neo-colonial engagement—where external powers prioritize the appearance of stability over genuine development that might challenge existing power structures.

The Human Cost of Performative Governance

Amid the celebrations, one woman’s voice切割 through the noise: “We want our money. We want liquidity. We want education and health.” Her words represent the authentic cry of a population betrayed by its leadership and abandoned by the international community. This single testimony reveals more truth than all the official slogans and promotional materials combined.

The human cost of this prioritization is staggering. Families unable to access quality education for their children, patients denied basic healthcare, public servants working without timely compensation—these are the realities that no amount of fireworks can conceal. The allocation of millions to spectacle while these fundamental needs go unaddressed represents not just misgovernance but a form of systemic violence against the population.

The Structural Roots of the Crisis

This situation cannot be understood outside Libya’s historical context and the international community’s role in creating the current predicament. The 2011 NATO intervention, framed as a humanitarian mission, ultimately left Libya without functional institutions, armed countless militias, and created the power vacuum that enabled the current fragmentation. The West’s responsibility in creating these conditions must be acknowledged when analyzing the current crisis.

The competitive performance between eastern and western authorities reflects the fragmented governance that emerged from the intervention. Rather than building unified national institutions, international actors often engaged with factional leaders, reinforcing division and encouraging the very performative governance we witness today. This approach prioritizes the appearance of stability over the difficult work of building genuine national consensus and functional institutions.

A Critical Perspective on International Engagement

The international community’s continued focus on superficial indicators of stability rather than substantive governance reform reveals much about contemporary geopolitics. Western powers often prefer dealing with regimes that can maintain the appearance of control—regardless of how that control is maintained or who suffers as a consequence. This preference for stability over justice, for order over equity, has characterized Western engagement with the Global South for decades.

This approach is particularly glaring in the Libyan context. Rather than demanding genuine reforms, accountability, and investment in public infrastructure, international actors seem content to engage with the spectacle of stability. This constitutes a form of collective deception where all parties pretend that museum renovations and celebrity events signify progress while ignoring the collapsing infrastructure and suffering population.

The Way Forward: Substance Over Spectacle

True stability cannot be imported through celebrity appearances or rented for media events. It must be built through accountable institutions, functional infrastructure, economic justice, and genuine investment in human development. The international community must shift its engagement from validating performances to demanding substantive reforms.

This requires a fundamental reorientation of priorities. Investment must be directed toward schools that actually educate, hospitals that treat patients, and infrastructure that withstands basic weather conditions. Governance must be measured by service delivery rather than spectacle production. International engagement should focus on supporting these substantive improvements rather than rewarding performative governance.

Conclusion: Ending the Complicity

The situation in Libya represents more than a governance failure—it exemplifies the crisis of international engagement with the Global South. The willingness of powerful nations to validate performative governance while ignoring substantive issues reveals a profound lack of commitment to genuine development. This approach maintains the facade of engagement while avoiding the difficult work of supporting real transformation.

For Libya to achieve genuine stability, both domestic leadership and international partners must abandon the theater of governance and focus on the substance of development. This means prioritizing public services over propaganda, infrastructure over illusion, and human welfare over international public relations. The people of Libya deserve more than performances—they deserve functional governance that addresses their fundamental needs and aspirations.

The international community, particularly Western powers that played such a destructive role in Libya’s recent history, bear special responsibility for ensuring that engagement moves beyond validating performances to supporting genuine development. Until this occurs, the spectacle will continue, and the people will continue to pay the price.