Waiting for the End

A Belgian passport, a U.S. embargo and a Ph.D. dissertation led government professor Dirk Vandewalle (above) to become one of the few researchers to study Libya from inside the coun- try in the late 1980s. Because of his rare depth of expertise, Vandewalle has not only become a go-to source for major news outlets cover- ing the Libyan conflict, but also an appointed political advisor to the UN as of July. Vandewalle was named political advisor to Special Advisor Ian Martin and will help shape UN policy in post-conflict Libya. "What we're in right now is the pre-assessment phase," says Vandewalle. With the aid of his vast knowledge of Libyan politics and leader Muammar Qaddafi, the UN is preparing to "be ready to go into Libya and provide its expertise no matter what the political situation looks like," adds the author of A HistoryojModern Libya (Cambridge University Press, 2006). However, he notes there is nothing the UN can do "until the country is reunified. What worries me is that the Transnational Council is not moving fast enough to create the institutions Libya really needs to create an equitable society and make sure that law and order will prevail." Vandewalle sees a two-part solution for resolv- ing conflict and rebuilding: "What we are talking about in Libya is not just state-building, but nation-building."

DID YOU KNOW?

6 Number of students who slept on cots in Novack Cafe, designated as a "cooling station" during the mid-July heat wave.

2 Full-contact practices allowed per week for Ivy League football teams under newly announced rules intended to prevent concussions.