Building the Nation in the Monarchical Era: History, Historiography, and Historians in Libya’s Independence Process (1940s – 1950s)

Journal article

Compared to most other cases of independence, the creation of Libya is generally regarded as a conservative outcome. Rather than being founded on a nationalist impulse, the United Kingdom of Libya derived its legitimacy from Islam, specifically following the path of the Sanūsiyya—one of the key symbols of anti-colonial resistance—whose religious leader became the first king of the new state. As a primarily religious movement, however, the Sanūsiyya’s influence was unevenly distributed across the country. Consequently, when Idris al-Sanūsī ascended the throne, his political legitimacy was not universally acknowledged. Within this context, both history and historiography played a strategic role in the construction and contestation of political legitimacy. This paper aims to analyse historiographical narratives produced during the 1940s and 1950s, viewing independence as a process that transcends the moment of its formal proclamation. The objective is twofold: first, to investigate the construction of a “Sanūsī epistemological sovereignty” through historical revision and the promotion of a pro-monarchist historiography; and second, to examine its role in legitimising the new state and in fostering a shared sense of identity and nationhood.

Authors: Marchi, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Itinerario: Journal of Imperial and Global Interactions
• Pages: 1-16
• Publication date: 2026-01-30
• Acceptance date: 2025-07-02
• DOI: 10.1017/s0165115325100338
• EISSN: 2041-2827
• ISSN: 0165-1153
• Language: English
• Keywords: Independence; Historiography; History; Decolonisation; Libya