Public Relations in Libya, Case Study Example

Libya is an Arab nation located in North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Chad and Niger to the south, Egypt to the east, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west (UNESCO, 2014).  With a populace well over six million, the Libyan culture is 97% Berber and Arab Muslims with the remaining 3% consisting of an assortment of Greeks, Italians, Turks, Egyptians, Maltese, Indians, Pakistanis, and Tunisians that have various religious and cultural practices  (UNESCO, 2014).  With Islam as the dominant cultural system in the region, a multitude of cross-cultural communication challenges can present for any public relations (PR) company attempting to conduct or introduce business practices in the region.  Established in 1971 with their first office location in Nicosia, Cyprus, The Action Group is a PR firm dedicated to facilitating professional media interactions between organizations and the public following the conclusion of the revolt against the Gadhafi regime(AGC, 2011).

Identify the Problem

As a predominantly Islamic nation, “the concept of ordre public (???????????????, ????????????)” is integrated in variousaspects as specific grounds for either regulating or derogating from legal norms that are otherwise applicable  (Tamrazyan & Khzrtian, 2012).  Islamic states combine law, government, and religion into an inseparable conglomerate, which is a foreign concept for individuals form Western societies to comprehend (Fleischhauer, 1988).  However, revolution has liberated much of the country as well as the media scene in Libyafrom Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign of power in and around Tripoli (Cottle, 2011).

The European External Action Service (EEAS) is a department within the European Union (EU) established following the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009 and has established a multitude of sanctions to disrupt the influx of weapons and money to the Gaddafi regime based on the prohibitionsof the UN Security Council Resolution 1970 (EEAS, 2014).   Additionally, extensive negotiations with international partners were facilitated to hasten the end of the conflict while the EEAS provided over €80.5 million that provisioned survivors with humanitarian assistance to support their basic needs, assist refugees, treat the injured, stop human rights abuses, and fund demining efforts (EEAS, 2014).

The EU has opened an office in Benghazi in May 2011 and another in Tripoli in August 2011 in order to facilitate the perpetuation of the continued assistance that has promoted mutual trade, cultural exchange, and cooperative approaches regarding migration to ensure the security and well-being of the Libyan people (EEAS, 2014).  The continuity of public relations initiatives that foster cross-cultural communication will help maintain the momentum and support the transition to democracy supported by continued stability in the region that will allow democratic elections for Libya’s political representatives (EEAS, 2014).  Additionally, businesses are reluctant to engage in activities in turbulent regions that endure heavy internal conflict out of fear that their business dealings will result in unresolvable disputes that bring fiscal losses since arbitration is the primary means of conflict resolution in Muslin countries (Gemmell, 2006).

Knowledge of the strong impact of these cultural aspects is paramount to avoiding the numerous potential pitfalls that may present whileconducting business negotiations in Libya, where the arbitration method of conflict resolution is often preferred over litigation when necessitated to resolve business disputes (Berry, 2011).  The presence of the Action Libya office integrates the first transnational PR firm in Libya, providing an integrated network of full service public relations and communications as well as media training, event management, and media monitoring products  (AGC, 2011).As part of the extensive Action Group that connects over 40 countries in the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, the CIS countries, the Baltics, the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Russia, theAction Libya office staffs four of the 300 multilingual, seasoned, and capable professionals networked within the organization (AGC, 2011).  Currently, Libya has more than 150 newspapers, five magazines, eight national radio stations, 12 TV channels, and 10 regional radio stations that can be used to promote public relations (AGC, 2011).

The agency is based in central Tripoli, which has positioned the PR specialists to reach the increasing number of media venuesthat have emerged since the end of the war (AGC, 2011).This has enabled the specialists at Action Libya to offer a wide range of services, including brand and marketing communications, business to business (B2B) communication, communications strategy development, corporate communications, corporate social responsibility,crisis and issues management, internal communications, investor relations, leadership communications, media relations and training, and special events (AGC, 2011).  The successful provisioning of these services is enabled through the cultural considerations integrated into practice in the arbitrary methods used by the competent staff of the Action Libya office.

Identify & Analyze the Process

Globalization and international trade have afforded many Libyan business communities’ autonomy in their business dealings, which presents several of the difficulties in garnering compliance where arbitral awards are concerned (Saif, Nawaz, Jan, & Khan, 2012).  The EU has established the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which involves collaboration with its southern and eastern neighbors to attain the best possible political relationship in addition to the highest level of economic integration (EEAS, 2014).Various aspects of Islamic arbitration, such as the idea that arbitral awards have the same binding force as a court judgment, have made this a favorable practice that has been adopted globally, which has made the process of public relations easier in regards to the cross-cultural challenges involved in facilitating foreign investment in Libyan businesses (Amissah, 2008; Gemmell, 2006).  Through public relations interventions that utilize cross-cultural paradigms, the finality of awards rendered in the context of international commercial arbitration have been presented as concrete, notwithstanding exceptional circumstances (Fleischhauer, 1988).

Investment arbitration is vital to the health of foreign investment to the point it has the potential to create a direct loss of broad foreign investors (Gemmell, 2006).  The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) seeks to make specific provisions for the unique circumstances faced by foreign investors and is designed to meet the modern concerns relating to the current state of national laws on arbitration, enumerating specific guidelines for the purpose of arbitrary proceedings (Amissah, 2008).  However, arbitrational agreements are frequently drafted without proper consideration to the state policies, which causes a disjunction between the arbitral award’s compatibility with its policies on Libyan jurisprudence and jurisdiction (Gemmell, 2006).  The stringent laws and potential for conflict in Islamic nations such as Libya have historically acted as deterrents that hindered international commercial ventures (Mistelis, 2000).

Identify Positives & Negatives

The goal of the ENP is founded on common interests and values, such as respect for human rights, democracy, social cohesion, andthe rule of law, which is why the EU supports the achievement of these objectives through financial support (EEAS, 2014).   The EU has awarded grants worth as much as €12billion to ENP-related projects between 2007 to 2013; encouraged the economic integration and access to EU markets through trade agreements with EU and its ENP partners that totaled €230 billion in 2011; facilitated easier travel to the EU for citizens and students from ENP countries by issuing 3.2 million Schengen visas in 2012; and providing technical as well as policy support (EEAS, 2014).  To encourage faster integration of new policies, the EU introduced the more-for-more principle during the 2010-2011 review, which states that the EU will strengthen partnerships and increase incentives to nations that progress towards democratic reform at a more rapid pace (EEAS, 2014).  This includes the establishment of free and fair elections;allowance of freedom of expression, assembly,judicial independence,and freedom of association;and oppose corruption that prohibits democratic control over the armed forces (EEAS, 2014).

Analyze & Evaluate the Solutions

The current and past aggressive actions between the EU and Libya must be considered in the development of any policy involving these countries (Saif, Nawaz, Jan, & Khan, 2012).  Like public policy, private laws consistently present roadblocks to successful formation of legal agreements. Many countries have their own subset of standards and commerce laws that they practice and these ordinances dictate whether agreements produced on foreign soil are binding.  Additionally, some of the significant singularities that exist within legislation in regards to international commerce necessitates cross-cultural considerations in order to establish common contractual grounds.

Modern arbitration laws and rules, grant the arbitrators a wide discretionary berth concerning the format of the arbitral procedure and the majority of the rules may be customized during proceedings to fit the arbitrary circumstances.  Although the binding nature of arbitral agreements is designated in the actual letter of the document, clauses of exemption allow these doctrines to be superseded by local ordinances.  Additionally, all countries electing to engage in business practices with Libya must familiarize themselves with Islamic laws and practices prior to engaging in any transactions to avoid any miscommunications that might lead to arbitrary situations.

Conclusion

The dominance of the Islamic culture in Libya necessitates the integration of a multitude of cross-cultural communication techniques to overcome the challenges for any PR company attempting to conduct or introduce business practices in the region.  Additionally, the progress of initiatives such as the ENP assistance programs will help Libya shiftfrom the current focus on fulfilling immediate needs to longer satisfying longer goals that will meet multiple needs that are currently being undertaken by the EU (EEAS, 2014).  This includes larger concerns such as elections,border security, and creating a stable civil society (EEAS, 2014).  The EU will need ongoing PR support from organizations suchas The Action Group Libya for longer term solidification of the politicalrelationship between Libya and the EU through financial and technical cooperation in addition toimplementation of the different instruments specified under ENP (EEAS, 2014).Action Group Libya is dedicated to facilitating professional interactions between organizations and the public following the conclusion of the revolt against the Gadhafi regime (AGC, 2011).

References

AGC. (2011). About Us: Action Group- Snapshot into Libya. Retrieved from Action Global Communications: http://www.actionprgroup.com/index.php?id=1070; http://www.actionprgroup.com/1134.html

Ahmad, N., & Daghfous, A. (2010). Knowledge Sharing Through Inter-organizational Knowledge Networks: Challenges and Opportunities in the United Arab Emirates. European Business Review, 22(2), 153-174.

Amissah, R. (2008). UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (1985). United Nations, 1-16. Retrieved from United Nations.

Berry, J. W. (2011). Cross-Cultural Psychology: Research and Applications (3rd ed.). Cambridge, GBR: Cambridge University Press.

Cottle, S. (2011). Media and the Arab uprisings of 2011: Research notes. Journalism, 12(5), 647-659. doi:10.1177/1464884911410017

EEAS. (2014). Libya. Retrieved from European Union External Action: http://eeas.europa.eu/libya/index_en.htm

Fleischhauer, C.-A. (1988). Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards., (pp. Article I-XVI).

Gemmell, A. J. (2006, December 9). Commercial Arbitration in the Islamic Middle East. Santa Clara University, School of Law, Center for Global Law & Policy, 169-193.

Kutty, F. M. (2005). The Shari’a Factor in International Commercial Arbitration. Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, The Berkeley Electronic Press, 1-78.

Mistelis, L. (2000). International Law Assocition-London Conference (2000) Committee on International Commercial Arbitration: Keeping the Unruly Horse in Control or Public Policy as a Bar to Enforcement of (Foreign) Arbitral Awards. International Law Forum du droit international, 248-253.

Saif, S., Nawaz, A., Jan, F., & Khan, M. (2012, January). Synthesizing the theories of job-satisfaction across cultural/attitudinal dimensions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 3(9), 1382-1396.

Smith, G. A., & Marrone, M. A. (2010, September 15). Recent Developments in Arbitration Law in the U.A.E. Retrieved from Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Gunn, and Dial: http://www.wwhgd.com/assets/attachments/Middle_East.pdf

Tamrazyan, K., & Khzrtian, S. (2012). The Public Policy Exception to Recognition and Ebforcement of Arbitral Awards under Armenian Law. Retrieved from AUA Law Department: http://law.aua.am/files/2012/02/Legal-Memo-Public-Order.pdf

UNESCO. (2014). Libya. Retrieved from United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/worldwide/arab-states/libya/