What is it about?
This chapter explores how Turkey’s military involvement in Libya connects with disputes over sea boundaries, regional influence and national identity. Supporting the authorities in Tripoli helped Ankara secure a strategic foothold and protect a contested maritime agreement. Historical narratives presented this involvement as a return to a shared past, while the “Blue Homeland” doctrine framed maritime claims as questions of national belonging, dignity and defence. The chapter also examines how rival external powers compete while sustaining Libya’s divided political order.
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Why is it important?
Libya’s conflict and Mediterranean maritime disputes are closely connected. Understanding those connections helps explain how military support, diplomatic recognition and historical storytelling work together to reshape regional politics. It also reveals why international involvement can preserve fragmentation even when participating governments formally support a peace process.
Perspectives
I am interested in how geography acquires political meaning. Calling the sea a “homeland,” or presenting intervention as a historical responsibility, helps make particular actions appear necessary and legitimate. In this chapter, I explore how these narratives interact with military power and institutional recognition, and how the resulting competition shapes the possibilities for peace.
Dr Spyros Sofos
Simon Fraser University
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This page is a summary of: Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean, July 2026, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9781003665830-9.
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