[17] It was proposed by Gaddafi as an alternative to capitalism and Marxism–Leninism for Third World countries, based on the stated belief that both of these ideologies had been proven invalid.

[1] The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to disseminate and implement this theory, and it found partial realization in Libya, a self-proclaimed utopian model state.

This socialism was based on the principles of nationalism, religion and equality, and its ideas inspired a number of revolutions, popular uprisings and coups in the Arab world.

The supreme power was temporarily relegated to the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), headed by 27-year-old Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

On 7 October 1969, at the 24th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Libya announced its intention to eliminate all foreign bases on Libyan land.

The first results and the nearest tasks of the Libyan revolution were fixed in a public statement on 11 December 1969, a Provisional Constitutional Declaration.

It was proclaimed that one of the main goals of the revolution was the building of a form of socialism based on "religion, morality and patriotism".

Gaddafi and his companions intended to achieve this through "social justice, high levels of production, the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the equitable distribution of national wealth".

The Revolutionary Command Council was to function as the centre of the political organization of society, with the right to appoint cabinet ministers, to declare war and enter into contracts, to issue decrees with the force of law, and to handle key aspects of internal affairs and foreign policy.

According to the "Green Book", the winner in the struggle for power is always an instrument of government — an individual, party, class; and the loser is always the people, and thus, it is not true democracy.

The political struggle often leads to the rise to power of an instrument of government which represents a minority, and that through legal democratic means.

In general, the theory of representative government is, Gaddafi argues, an outdated practice that was invented by philosophers and thinkers at the time when the common folk were ordered about like livestock by their rulers.

Moreover, the more numerous the parties are, the more intensive is the power struggle between them, which in turn undermines the programmes geared to benefit the entire society.

Therefore, to be completely democratic, it is necessary to create such an instrument of government, which would be identical to the entire nation as a whole, rather than to a representative body acting on its behalf.

The slogan "Partners, not employees" was given theoretical justification in the second part of the Green Book, and in November of the same year this idea began to be implemented in some industrial enterprises.

According to Gaddafi, he proved that they were unable to answer his questions, and he subsequently used that as a reason to deprive some of them of the right to conduct religious services.

Government revenues from oil exports were to be used to finance urban development and the creation of a modern system of social welfare.

At the same time, to improve Libya's international prestige, huge sums were spent on creating a well-equipped modern army.

In the Middle East and North Africa, Libya served as a carrier of ideas of Arab nationalism and as an uncompromising enemy of Israel and the United States.

The sharp drop in oil prices in mid-1980s and the UN sanctions for its connection to the Lockerbie bombings (in 1992) led to a significant weakening of Libya.

The fundamental principles come down to this: every nation should have its own religion, and should recognize the importance of a continuous social chain ("the family—the tribe—the nation—the world," "from the small to the great").

[24] In the absence of specific prescriptions for the transformation of society in the so-called "Islamic socialism", Gaddafi constantly made revisions to this theory.

[26][clarification needed] In the subsequent explanations and comments on the "Green Book", many of its provisions underwent significant revisions while still remaining the basic catechism of ideology in Libya.

With the advent of globalization and the information revolution, Gaddafi slightly modified his theory by introducing a thesis about the era of large spaces in which the nation-state is becoming inviable.

[27] Under Gaddafi, Libya was governed by a military regime professing the idea of Arab nationalism, socialism, and Islam.

Direct democracy has been declared in the country, and oil revenues make it possible to maintain a high standard of living for the Libyan population.

The system that he created may have aroused the Libyan people to political activism, but, as he had to admit, "popular participation in government was not complete".

[29] Therefore, at the session of the General People's Congress held in the town of Sirte on 18 November 1992, it was decided to set up a new political structure: this was to initiate the country's transition to the supreme level of democracy — "a Model Jamahiriya".

It was about creating, instead of the primary public meetings (People's Congresses), 1500 communes, which are self-guided mini-states within a state, each with full authority within its district, including the allocation of budgetary funds.

[30] The need to reorganize the former political system, as explained by Gaddafi, was primarily due to the fact that it had "failed to ensure genuine democracy because of the complexity of the structure, which created a gap between the masses and the leadership, and was characterized by excessive centralization."