Saif al-Qaddafi’s fall from grace

That’s the title of THIS BRIEF ARTICLE in Foreign Policy magazine.

From the introduction to Saif’s dissertation at the LSE:

“‘I shall be primarily concerned with what I argue is the central failing of the current system of global governance in the new global environment: that it is highly undemocratic'”

He struck a rather different tone recently when whipping a Tripoli crowd into a frenzy:

“Only God, Muammar, and Libya … we need no other than our leader Qaddafi. [I will return later tonight] with more people and weapons.”

It’s true that many universities sell themselves to just about any donor these days. But as some of my friends have asked in emails: what alternative do universities have anymore? I can see their point. If universities aren’t adequately funded, then you’re going to see a lot more Qaddafi dissertations on democracy and BP/Exxon Chairs in Environmental Studies.

But as for Saif, wow. I remember his May 5, 2010 Cairo speech like it was yesterday– and it sounded a lot like that LSE dissertation.