Abstrakt
Arms, military equipment, and expertise were essential commodities during the Cold War. Czechoslovakia, a state with lot of experience in arms production and deals, was capable of and willing to provide these goods to recently decolonized, independent Third World countries.
In the early 1970sʼ, a fresh potential customer surfaced - Libya, with its newly established leader, colonel Muammar Qaddafi. Libya was a great opportunity for Czechoslovakia, not only for economic, but also political, ideological, and cultural reasons.
The Tripoli government was short of equipment, personnel, and know-how, it was paying in cash and willing to cooperate with the Eastern Bloc as a whole. Czechoslovak activities in Libya then became a part of a large struggle between capitalist and socialist modernity in the Global South.
This paper will shortly introduce Czechoslovak-Libyan relations, while concentrating on the 1970sʼ and 1980sʼ. The importance of arms deals, and the role of military experts will be discussed.
Special attention will be given to operation LITOMYŠL, through which the biggest deals, and military-student exchanges were completed.