Yemen and the Search for Stability

The ongoing civil war in Yemen, with its clear regional and international dimensions, has killed thousands and triggered a humanitarian disaster. Since 2014/15, Huthi rebels and (until December 2017) Salih-affiliated militias have been fighting a broad front of forces loyal to the internationally recognized government, the Southern Movement, as well as local actors fighting for their own interests. This front is supported by the Saudi-led multinational coalition.In 2011, however, thousands of Yemenis took to the streets to protest for a better future for their country. When President `Aliʿ’Abd Allah Salih signed over power in the aftermath of these protests there were hopes that this would signal the beginning of a new period of transition. Yemen and the Search for Stability focuses on the aspirations that inspired revolutionary action, and analyses what went wrong in the years that followed. It examines the different groups involved in the protests – Salih supporters, Muslim Brothers, Salafis, Huthis, secessionists, women, youth, artists and intellectuals – in terms of their competing visions for the country’s future as well as their internal struggles.This book traces the impact of the 2011 upheavals on these groups’ ideas for a “new Yemen” and on their strategies for self-empowerment. In so doing, Yemen and the Search for Stability examines the mistakes committed in the country’s post-2011 transition process, but also points towards prospects for stability and positive change.