“Location, location, location” is a favourite slogan of estate agents. If you’re buying a house or a flat, the location is crucial. Is it close to shops, transport, schools? Is it quiet and peaceful? And who are the neighbours?
Location is equally important in international politics. Geography defines the nation. If there are mountains, invasion is harder. If there is water and natural resources, navigable rivers and sea harbours, trade will be easier. If the climate is clement and the farmland is fertile, agriculture will thrive.
The neighbourhood is also important. Shared frontiers mean shared history. Countries can be friends and partners, or they can be rivals.
Europe is a good example. The frontiers of the nations of Europe are mainly formed by natural boundaries: mountain ranges and rivers. The tribes that invaded from the east hundreds of years ago settled in places where they could grow their crops, engage in trade and defend themselves.
The industrial revolution was also rooted in geography. Many parts of the United Kingdom had coal and plenty of water to power mills. Proximity to ports gave access to imported iron and cotton. Those ports also allowed manufacturers to break out of the domestic market and export.
Colonial expansion was also a product of the countries located by the sea: Spain, Portugal, Britain, France and the Netherlands had sea ports and trees to build ships. They needed foreign markets to expand, so explored and established new countries.
What does geography mean for a country like Libya? As with many countries in Africa, Libya’s borders were drawn by colonial ambition. It was geography that dictated the way people live. The main towns are on the coast with access to the sea. Agriculture is limited to those areas that enjoy the scarce water resources. Large areas of desert are virtually unpopulated.
The three regions are geographically different. Tripolitania traded to the north so had closer ties with Europe. Cyrenaica’s trade links looked east. And Fezzan’s tribal and trade links were with the south. These traditional distinctions remain part of modern Libya’s political make-up.
The other geographical factor is oil. The presence of large hydrocarbon deposits is an accident of location. It represents a massive benefit for the country and offers the prospect of wealth in the future, if properly managed for the good of the nation.
Is Libya a prisoner of its geography? As in most other countries, geographical factors create realities that leaders cannot ignore. Differences between regions are part of the pressures and tensions that they face.
But Libya can overcome these differences. As in other countries where geography divides, people can come together to build a better future. It is important for Libyans to take the hand that the country been dealt and make the best of it.
Geography has been good to Libya, not just the oil and gas, but the historical sites, beautiful coastline and mountains and links with friendly neighbours. Libyans can exploit these factors for the future by focussing on what brings people together, to develop these natural gifts for the benefit of all Libyans.
Geography can also be overcome by building a common Libyan identity. Libyans have a common language and religion and, crucially, common values. There are also common enemies: the scourge of terrorism, the risk of economic meltdown and the threat of political division and renewed civil war.
Understanding a country is a complex task. We have to understand the history, the culture and the economy. Geography is vital factor: it sets a country’s destiny: designs its history, dictates its economy and drives its policies.
But countries do not need to be prisoners of their history. Location might be unavoidable; but unity can be built around a common future.