A CLUTCH of archaeologists sits in a freshly upholstered auditorium near the Roman amphitheatre in Leptis Magna to learn how to use a global positioning system, something restricted to the security forces under Colonel Muammar Qaddafi. “Take a picture, then note the co-ordinates,” says an instructor, showing slides of the ruins (pictured above).

The country and the government apparatus left behind by the erratic dictator, who had run the show for 42 years, were almost as decrepit as these relics of Rome. To ensure that not the slightest whiff of dissent could exist, institutions and even state bodies were never allowed to grow. Political parties were banned. Yet since the colonel’s death in October last year at the hands of rebel fighters, Libya has not only held national elections, followed a fortnight ago by the presentation of a diverse government, albeit that not all of its members have been endorsed. It has also started to build a new system of civil administration that may one day form the backbone of a law-abiding and prosperous society.

Read Here – The Economist