Two years after Libyan revolutionary forces deposed Colonel Muammar Qadaffi’s regime, Libya's complex state-building process continues. Local and regional armed groups, including Libya's revolutionary brigades, have an important role to play in this process, although there is no clear understanding of how. As part of its focus project on Libya and North Africa, the Small Arms Survey has commissioned research on the identities and functions of armed groups in the country and region. Small Arms Survey consultants Peter Cole and Brian McQuinn raise some essential points to be taken into account when considering Libya's future, and in particular the part that these groups play.