سیدعلی سادات حسینی

Abstract :

The people of Western Asia and North Africa have a strong inclination towards Islam and Islamic values, which are in harmony with human nature and spirit.

This region's significance has drawn the attention of global and regional powers, leading to their aggressive, colonial, and invasive actions.

In the current era, with the rise of the United States and some European countries' ability to influence globally, North Africa and Western Asia have become targets. The disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, attempts at direct colonization of Iran or through supported governments, and the Jewish invasion of Palestine, leading to the occupation of the land and the establishment of Israel, supported by the USA, UK, and France, have spurred actions against these intrusions and colonialism, in accordance with Islamic directives and the human inclination towards independence and freedom. Over time, there have been changes in the number and nature of these resisting governments or groups.

The Resistance Axis, today comprising the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Arab Republic of Syria, and groups like Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, Hezbollah of Lebanon, Yemen's Houthis, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, etc., has united with the goal of waging jihad for Palestine's liberation from Zionist regime presence and combating the interventions, influence, and aggressions of the USA and the West. The more members in the Resistance Axis, the greater their collective power and ability to confront their enemies. It is essential for the coherence of the Resistance Axis that its members act in accordance with its ideology. Resilience in the face of enemy pressure and aggression can make members more determined and reliable.

After the ۲۰۱۱ events in Libya and Gaddafi's fall, Libya found new opportunities to choose its foreign policies and relations. Post-Gaddafi Libya witnessed anti-Zionist, anti-American, and anti-Western tendencies. Alongside Libya's existing strengths, these tendencies reinforce the notion that Libya, with its ideological leanings towards the Resistance Axis, Sunnusi thought influence among its people, religious and sectarian unity, anti-aggression and anti-colonial history, and factors like energy resources and geographic position in the Mediterranean, could increase its resilience against hard and soft attacks from enemies. This thesis also explores external opportunities like the role of the Resistance Axis countries, Russia, and China in expanding the Axis in Libya, as well as environmental threats from other countries like the USA, the European Union, Turkey, Egypt, etc.

The final SWOT matrix results are used to determine strategic recommendations for expanding the Resistance Axis in Libya.