Global Regional And Local Dynamics In The Yemen Crisis

This international relations study investigates the underlying causes of the Yemen crisis by analyzing the interactions of global, regional, and local actors. At all phases, GCC member states played a key role, from political negotiations amidst street protests in 2011 to formation of an international military coalition in 2015. Using a multi-actor model, the book shows that various actors, whether state or non-state, foreign or domestic, combined to create a disastrous armed conflict and humanitarian crisis. Yemen’s tragedy is often blamed on Saudi Arabia and its rivalry with Iran, which is usually defined in sectarian “Sunni-Shia” terms, yet the book presents a more complex picture of what happened due to involvement by many other foreign actors, such as the UAE, UN, UK, US, EU, Russia, China, Turkey, Oman, Qatar, and African states of the Red Sea and Horn of Africa.

Expert analysis of Yemen's social and political crisis, with profound implications for the fate of the Arab World The democratic promise of the 2011 Arab Spring has unraveled in Yemen, triggering a disastrous crisis of civil war, famine, militarization, and governmental collapse with serious implications for the future of the region. Yet as expert political researcher Helen Lackner argues, the catastrophe does not have to continue, and we can hope for and help build a different future in Yemen. Fueled by Arab and Western intervention, the civil war has quickly escalated, resulting in thousands killed and millions close to starvation. Suffering from a collapsed economy, the people of Yemen face a desperate choice between the Huthi rebels on the one side and the internationally recognized government propped up by the Saudi-led coalition and Western arms on the other. In this invaluable analysis, Helen Lackner uncovers the roots of the social and political conflicts that threaten the very survival of the state and its people. Importantly, she argues that we must understand the roots of the current crisis so that we can hope for a different future for Yemen and the Middle East. With a preface exploring the US’s central role in the crisis.

Based on years of in-depth field research, this book unravels the complexities of the Yemeni state and its domestic politics with a particular focus on the post-1990 years. The central thesis is that Yemen continues to suffer from regional fragmentation which has endured for centuries. En route the book discusses the rise of President Salih, his tribal and family connections, Yemen's civil war in 1994, the war's consequences later in the decade, the spread of radical movements after the US military response to 9/11 and finally developments leading to the historic events of 2011. This book sets a new standard for scholarship on Yemeni politics and it is essential reading for anyone interested in the modern Middle East, the 2011 Arab revolts and twenty-first-century Islamic politics.

Focusing on the fundamental reasons underlying the lasting crisis of the Yemeni Civil War, this book frames contemporary Yemen and assesses prospects beyond the conflict, identifying the factors which will determine its future internal and international characteristics. Building on Helen Lackner’s profound experience in Yemen, this volume discusses Yemen’s history and state formation, the main political institutions emerging since the Republic of Yemen was established and their role in the war, including the significance of current fragmentation. The volume goes on to discuss climate change, including the water scarcity issue, in the context of resource constraints to economic development and the role of migration. Rural and urban life, as well as the impact of international development and humanitarian aid, are also covered, together with Yemen’s international relations – its interaction with its neighbours as well as Western states. Looking forward, it suggests the type of policies able to give Yemenis the conditions needed for a reasonable standard of living. Thanks to analysis of determining events, the book will appeal to politicians, diplomats, humanitarian organizations, security analysts, researchers on the Middle East and those generally interested in Yemen. It will also be an essential text for students of international relations, political economy, failing states, development studies and contemporary Middle Eastern history.

Yemen is the only state on the Arabian Peninsula that is not a member of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). It is also the only local state not ruled by a royal family. Relations between Yemen and the GCC states go back for centuries with some tribes in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman tracing genealogy back to ancient Yemen. In this timely volume six scholars analyze Yemen's relations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iran with a focus on recent developments, including the conflict after the fall of Ali Abdullah Salih in Yemen. This volume is based on a workshop held at the Gulf Research Meeting organized by the Gulf Research Center Cambridge in summer 2016.

Yemen has faced continuing crises since 2010. The fighting and divisions have destroyed much of Yemen's physical, political and social infrastructure, undermining its tribal traditions and religious tolerance, and impoverishing the country. The outbreak of war in 2015 caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. In this book, Yemeni and international experts assess what political arrangements are required to overcome fragmentation and discord in Yemen. They look to understand how people from all parts of the county can work together to build a new Yemen, one that will give a voice to its young population and provide a full role for women. The contributors argue that Yemen's major resource is its population, but that Yemenis need to be motivated and trained to give them the skills to rebuild the economy and to prepare for long-term challenges such as water shortages and climate change. The volume also discusses how the international community will need to absorb the lessons of the past to find better ways of creating the institutions, mechanisms and transparency with Yemenis that will enable the flow of vital assistance to where it is most needed. The book provides an up-to-date analysis to help governments and international agencies who will have to work with Yemen and its neighbours in the post conflict situation.

In November 2011, an agreement brokered by the GCC brought an end to Yemen's tumultuous uprising. The National Dialogue Conference has opened a window of opportunity for change, bringing Yemen's main political forces together with groups that were politically marginalized. Yet, the risk of collapse is serious, and if Yemen is to remain a viable state, it must address numerous political, social and economic challenges. In this invaluable volume, experts with extensive Yemen experience provide innovative analysis of the country's major crises: centralized governance, the role of the military, ethnic conflict, separatism, Islamism, foreign intervention, water scarcity and economic development. This is essential reading for academi, journalists, development workers, diplomats, politicians and students alike. 'Essential reading ... The authors shed light on the context of the Yemeni uprising in a way that not only helps us understand the current transitional period but also the outlines of Yemen's future.' -- Charles Schmitz, President of the American Institute of Yemeni Studies 'An up to date and wide-ranging guide to what is arguably the Arab world's least known and most misunderstood state. Edited by one of Britain's foremost authorities on Yemen ... brings together an impressive range of experts on the country to examine the contemporary reality of Yemen.' -- Michael Willis, Director of the Middle East Centre, St Antony's College, Oxford University 'Thoughtful and well-researched, Why Yemen Matters unearths a wealth of information about contemporary Yemeni society.' -- Baghat Korany, Professor of International Relations, American University in Cairo

This book provides an overview of the National Dialogue design process in fragile settings at the national, regional, and international levels in the MENA region. It provides a comparative analysis at the international level by examining the Yemeni NDC 2013 with those of Afghanistan and Ethiopia, and at the regional level, focusing on Iraq and Tunisia. It also goes beyond the traditional exploration of political and social conflicts by adding a rich theoretical layer of analysis of Humanitarian Aid and its contribution to war economies in the Arab region. Finally, it examines the news frames used in the coverage of the conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and takes one step further to integrate a media lens by analysing the extent of the media coverage devoted to the Yemeni and Syrian wars by four prestigious European online news platforms. This incisive book presents a radical contrast between the on-ground reality of the conflicts in the region, distinguished by various social, political, economic, geographic, and humanitarian challenges, and its discordant abstract portrayal in European online media.