CONTINUITY vs. DISRUPTION: POLITICS AND STATE FORMATION IN YEMEN
This workshop is an opportunity for a focused discussion on the long-term prospects of Yemen’s current political transition with 15-20 experts and policy makers on the basis of years of research by Chatham House’s Yemen Forum and ongoing research by the Clingendael Institute.
Yemen stands out as an example of how popular mobilization, a dynamic youth movement and powerful symbolism managed to overcome entrenched and determined regime resistance against change. The initiation of the Yemeni National Dialogue in the wake of the agreement brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council in November 2011 heralded a unique opportunity for Yemen to address some of its long-standing challenges of marginalization and resource depletion with new vigor. It’s a story of hope. Or so the common wisdom goes…
Yet, at the same time, powerful and deeper forces are at play that seek to maintain the status quo. These include the August 2013 spike in US drone strikes as the most visible evidence of the tendency to see Yemen through the lens of terrorism. Moreover, limited political change and the absence of economic and social reform have left the business interests and patronage networks of Yemen’s ‘old guard’ mostly intact. The international community is faced with a situation in which it has limited influence and even more limited options for engagement…
Program
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Further information
• Clingendael work on Yemen: Erwin van Veen, [email protected], twitter
• Chatham House work on Yemen: Leonie Northedge, [email protected], twitter
• Chatham House Yemen Forum: Peter Salisbury, journalist and analyst on topics of energy and political economy in the Middle East, twitter
