University of Exeter Press
The Yemeni Civil War
The Arab Spring, State formation and internal instability
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- 278 Pages
This book suggests an innovative theoretical framework to understand the meltdown and civil wars of countries such as Yemen, Syria, and Libya after their 2011 uprisings, using Yemen as a case study. The interaction between different types of state formation and regional rivalry can explain, respectively, the civil wars of these countries and the preservation of the Bahraini system, despite its ethnic nature.
The analysis works on two interconnected levels: First, an internal level focusing on the state formation of the country in question; and second, a regional level examining the operational context within which each country functions, and the type of actors involved in its political affairs.
The recurrent instability in Yemen has been a result of overlapping group grievances repeatedly rising to the surface. This reflects a process of different attempts at state formation that ultimately failed to produce a modern state, along with core elites defined by (and at the same time exploiting) ethnic markers, perpetually infighting throughout Yemeni history. These three elements—tensions between groups, unsuccessful state formations, and the ethnic markers of its elites—stand at the core of the Yemeni dilemma. This book is based on original archival research and more than 100 interviews conducted by the author with all parties of the Yemeni Civil War and with other regional actors.
The importance of this book lies not only in the fact that it introduces a comprehensive analysis of the dilemma of instability in Yemen, but also because of its theoretical framework that is pertinent to understanding Arab internal politics in general, especially after the "Arab spring". In fact, Dr. Elham Manea has excelled in grasping all the key factors needed to understand Yemeni politics, let alone her ability to underline their relative weights, forecasting different scenarios of the Yemeni future. I believe that reading her distinguished work is an indispensable and serious attempt for finding a lasting settlement in Yemen.
Ahmad Yousef Ahmad, Professor of Political Science, Cairo University
This is a compelling analysis of Yemen’s ongoing struggles. Elham Manea’s book offers innovative insights that make it an essential read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of Yemen and the region.
Dr Marieke Brandt, Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Professor Manea’s new book is truly excellent. Her nuanced treatment of the evolution of tribal and religious identities throughout the Ottoman and British periods, the doctrinal/political roots of religious rivalries and the evolution over time of a distinctive Yemeni political sociology is exemplary. I don’t recall reading anything else in English on the subject of Yemen which has the same granularity, the same range of Arabic and specifically Yemeni sources - both written and oral - and the same command of the social context. It’s about time Yemen spoke for itself: here it certainly does.
Sir John Jenkins, Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics
Introduction
1. The Arab Spring and its Outcomes
2. The Yemeni Civil War and the Youth Uprisings
3. Legacies of Geography, Tribes, and Religious Beliefs
4. The Narrative Dilemma
5. Legacies of Ottoman Imperialism
6. Legacies of Colonization
7. The Cunning State and the Politics of Survival
8. The Role of the Cunning State
9. Conclusion: Yemen’s Transition Towards Chaos
Notes
Interviews
Bibliography
Index
- 278 Pages