No subject

In 1977, Muammer Gaddafi created his own theory of government to
consolidate his revolution. Choosing neither capitalism nor communism,
he came up with the "third universal theory", which he detailed in his
famous Green Book, and turned his state into a Jamahiriya, which means
"the rule of the masses".

A form of socialism with Islamist overtones, the Jamahiriya system
purported to give real power to the people by establishing, at least
in appearance, a direct democracy.

In reality, however, the system allowed neither political parties nor
elections. It created a complicated structure that ensured Mr Gaddafi
- whose title is Guide of the First of September Revolution - ruled
unchallenged.

Under his unique style of government, Libyans are represented through
local congresses, each of which sends a representative to the General
People's Congress. This body is supposed to act as a legislative
assembly, but it has no real power and is used simply to confirm Mr
Gaddafi's decisions.

Day-to-day decision-making meanwhile resides in the so-called General
People's Committees, the equivalent of a cabinet, with its secretaries
acting as heads of ministries. More substantial power has in the past
resided in revolutionary committees, headed by people close to the
leader and with young, zealous members. The power of these committees,
often described as the regime's watchdogs, was curtailed in the 1980s,
however, after they faced mounting accusations of abuse.

Now Mr Gaddafi is turning against his own system. In March, he said
the General People's Committees had failed to manage resources and
satisfy Libyans' needs. "We cannot go on like this, especially when
the price of oil has reached more than $100 per barrel," he said.

The cabinet, he concluded, must be dissolved. Instead, Libyans would
form "real people's committees". They would be given the cash so they
could allocate funds for infrastructure, education and health - and in
this way ensure that the money was well spent.