The rise and decline of Libya as a rogue state

From 1980 until 2006, the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) was considered by the United States as a “Rogue State”. However, in May 2006, the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, welcomed Libya back into the world community and declared that this erstwhile enemy had reformed. But has the American public registered this change in Libya’s status? Has this return to the fold influenced U.S. public opinion about Libya and its eccentric leader, Colonel Qaddafi? Or is it merely a case of new foes pushing old ones out of mind? What might some of America’s new “Rogue State” enemies learn from Libya’s example? This paper explores the nexus between the tumultuous U.S.-Libyan relationship and the U.S. public, and analyses how and why perceptions of Libya have changed.