For 2301's written assignment this week, an NYT story on one of the problems the groups that will replace Qaddafi - there are no political or civil institutions to speak of in the country. Democracy is driven by the existence of political parties, a press, interest groups and a vibrant, politically astute population. Nothing like that exists in the country, the all have to created from scratch.
For those of you who have to determine whether democracies will be created in Middle Eastern countries following the Arab Spring, this is something to chew on.
As we will discover, one of the accomplishments of the Constitution was to establish solid institutions that provide stable government and can absorb political changes regularly. We have no similar crises when we have changes the presidency or Congress. That's the point of a constitutional system.
