"In both Game of Thrones and Libya, whoever controls the capital - no matter what's going on elsewhere - controls the rest of the kingdom. Today, Tripoli is controlled by mainstream Islamists related to the Muslim Brotherhood, the most powerful political group in Libya's Parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood is backed by some of Libya's largest militias. The family that controls King's Landing in Game of Thrones are the Lanisters. Just like the Islamists in Libya, the Lanisters don't have much popular support, but they're very shrewd politically."