In February 2007 Harvard professor Joseph Nye Jr., who developed the concept of “soft power,” [1] visited Libya and sipped tea for three hours with Muammar Qaddafi. Months later, he penned an elegant description of the chat [2] for The New Republic, reporting that Qaddafi had been interested in discussing “direct democracy.” Nye noted that “there is no doubt that” the Libyan autocrat “acts differently on the world stage today than he did in decades past. And the fact that he took so much time to discuss ideas—including soft power—with a visiting professor suggests that he is actively seeking a new strategy.” The article struck a hopeful tone: that there was a new Qaddafi. It also noted that Nye had gone to Libya “at the invitation of the Monitor Group, a consulting company that is helping Libya open itself to the global economy.” Continue reading “From Libya With Love”