Third International Theory

The Third International Theory, the Third Universal Theory (Arabic: نظرية عالمية ثالثة), or simply called Gaddafiism, refers to the style of government proposed by Col. Muammar Gaddafi in the early 1970s, on which his government, the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, was officially based. It was partly inspired by Islamic socialism, Arab nationalism, African nationalism and partly by the principles of direct democracy. It has similarities with the system of Yugoslav municipal self management in Titoist Yugoslavia, and the Yugoslav Third Way during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as developed by Edvard Kardelj. It was proposed as an alternative to capitalism and communism for Third World countries, based on the stated belief that both of these ideologies had been proven invalid.

The Higher Council for National Guidance was created to disseminate and implement this theory, and it found partial realization in Libya. Critics however claim that this theory wasn't implemented in reality and Colonel Gaddafi retained absolute power. By 2011 the fall and death of Gaddafi had seen his system dis-established and replaced by the National Transitional Council