Toppling Qaddafi: Libya and the Limits of Liberal Intervention

Toppling Qaddafi is a carefully researched, highly readable look at the role of the United States and NATO in Libya's war of liberation and its lessons for future military interventions. Based on extensive interviews within the US government, this book recounts the story of how the United States and its European allies went to war against Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, why they won the war, and what the implications for NATO, Europe, and Libya will be. This was a war that few saw coming, and many worried would go badly awry, but in the end the Qaddafi regime fell and a new era in Libya's history dawned. Whether this is the kind of intervention that can be repeated, however, remains an open question - as does Libya's future and that of its neighbors.

Table of Contents:
1. Libya and the light footprint; 2. Precipitous crisis; 3. The pivots of war; 4. Crippling Qaddafi and infighting over NATO; 5. Stalemate; 6. Grinding away; 7. Sudden success; 8. The impact of the war and its implications.

About the Author :
Christopher S. Chivvis is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation and teaches international history at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. Chivvis has served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy and worked for more than a decade on international security and political economic issues in the United States and Europe. He has written for several top policy and scholarly journals including Current History, International Affairs, the Journal of Contemporary History, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, Survival, The Washington Quarterly, the International Herald Tribune, The Washington Times, the US News and World Report, The Christian Science Monitor and CNN.com.

Review :
'Christopher Chivvis brilliantly dissects the 2011 intervention in Libya, providing a detailed account of Allied diplomacy and NATO military operations. Anyone thinking about future interventions should read this book.' James Goldgeier, Dean, School of International Service, American University 'Christopher Chivvis provides a highly readable, insightful account of the Libyan intervention - its successes and limitations. As someone who participated in these events, I recognized much of the story told - and learned more new things than I'd imagined.' Ivo Daalder, former United States Ambassador to NATO 'Christopher Chivvis makes an interesting case in Toppling Qaddafi that NATO's intervention in Libya had a 'positive' outcome and that it should provide an 'antidote to the sense of helplessness and cynicism about American power'. Some readers may disagree with his conclusions, but not with the argument that this is an important and clarifying debate.' David Ignatius, columnist, The Washington Post 'Toppling Qaddafi provides both a highly readable account of NATO's war in Libya and a carefully analytical basis for evaluating the relevance of this precedent for current and future conflicts.' James F. Dobbins, Director, International Security and Defense Policy Center, RAND Corporation 'Provides some important insights into behind-the-scenes machinations that led to the war.' Morning Star 'The monograph's main merit is its empirical investigation. Chivvis worked at the US Department of Defense during the war in Libya and thus is in a position to provide a very detailed description of the entire military campaign, drawing not only on press releases and news outlets, but also on interviews with US and allied officers and officials. The result is a clear, masterfully written and insightful book that delivers important information, even to the informed reader.' Andrea Gilli, The International Spectator