Deliberation Against Fragmentation: Citizen-Led Dialogue and Governance in Libya’s Post-2011 Transition

Despite recognition of civil society’s potential to foster dialogue during democratic transitions, little is known about how citizen-led initiatives shape governance in transitional settings in the Global South. This paper examines Libya’s 2017 National Peace Initiative, a ten-month dialogue led by civil society actors under former Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Awad Ibrahim. Unlike UN-led formal peace efforts focused on elites, this initiative provided a participatory space for citizens, local leaders, and activists to deliberate on constitutional, security, and governance issues, without directly influencing the formal political process. The paper argues that structured citizen deliberation can bridge societal fragmentation and generate shared political understandings, even without directly influencing elite negotiations. In Libya, entrenched mistrust and polarization were mitigated as participants articulated grievances, negotiated priorities, and found cross-regional common ground. Empirical evidence includes interviews with facilitators and participants, including a planned interview with Dr. Awad Ibrahim, showing how deliberation fostered mutual recognition and produced consensus-oriented governance recommendations. The study contributes theoretically by demonstrating the impact of citizen engagement outside formal channels on governance in transitional contexts. It shows that deliberation can shape political attitudes, reduce zero-sum perceptions, and enhance readiness for compromise, highlighting both the potential and limits of bottom-up civil society initiatives in weak institutional contexts.