There is little doubt that Libya, even without Mr Qaddafi, will remain a messy and possibly violent place. His rule has burdened it with a legacy of inadequate institutions, tangled laws and burning animosities. Sorting through this wreckage will take time, energy and ingenuity. Yet Libya does have some things going for it. It has plenty of cash, with foreign reserves alone totalling nearly $140 billion. Its talented exiles are eager to return. And, in a sense Mr Qaddafi is unlikely to have foreseen, the trauma of his rule may have forged a national identity much more heartfelt than it was before.

Endgame in Tripoli, the Economist, 24 febbraio 2011.