Qaddafi鈥檚 personal political philosophy of Islamic socialism is outlined in 鈥淭he Green Book,鈥� a book he penned and published in the 1970s. He professes to support a direct democracy and has run Libya through a system of popular committees and conferences. The lack of other figureheads in Libya鈥檚 鈥渄emocracy鈥� 鈥� a result of his pursuit of direct, rather than representative, democracy 鈥� has allowed him to further concentrate power.
He has professed a desire to end tribalism, but Reuters describes his way of handling Libya鈥檚 tribes as 鈥�,鈥� pitting them against each other to prevent challenges to his power.
He has also attempted to paint himself as a champion of small nations, standing up against world powers. In his rambling speech Tuesday, he described Libya as a country that others could look up to, and said it would someday lead the world.
