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Barbara Walter on Qaddafi's Exile Refusal in The American Prospect

Why Didn’t Qaddafi go into exile?

12/14/2011
Barbara Walter, The American Prospect

Below are some thoughts on Qaddafi's death and his decision not to seek exile from Barbara Walter, a professor of international relations at the University of California at San Diego. Professor Walter is a renowned expert on internal wars and terrorism and has published several outstanding books and articles on these topics as well as issues of bargaining, cooperation, and reputation more generally. We are glad to share her views here.

One of the many puzzles surrounding Muammar Qaddafi was his refusal to go into exile. Once NATO intervened on behalf of the rebels and Tripoli fell, Qaddafi must have known that he would eventually lose the war and that this would mean death. Instead of leaving the country, he decided to stay.

Why? One surprising answer has to do with the International Criminal Court. It used to be that exile was an attractive long-term option for dictators to take. Rather than stay and fight, they could live their lives in wealth and comfort in beautiful and stable places such as Paris or the Bahamas.

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Barbara Walter is a Professor of International Relations and Pacific Studies and Affiliated Faculty of Political Science.

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