Publications

Main Publications February 8, 2018 10:13 MIN Restoring central bank capacity and stabilizing the rial As part of the “Rethinking Yemen’s Economy” initiative, more than 20 of the leading socioeconomic experts on Yemen converged for the second Development Champions Forum on January 14-16 in Amman, Jordan. Among the urgent topics of discussion was the deterioration of the value of the Yemeni rial (YR), the magnifying impact this is having on the humanitarian crisis, and the need to re-empower the Central Bank of Yemen (CBY) as the steward of the rial and the economy generally. This policy brief is an outcome of those discussions, and the recommendations it includes collectively underline the need for the CBY to function in a more coherent, assertive manner – whereby its various branches operate as a united entity that is… Continue reading The Yemen Review January 22, 2018 98:45 MIN A Year of Hunger and Blood: Yemen at the UN / Special Issue – 2017 in Review In early 2017 the United Nations (UN) declared that Yemen was enduring the single largest humanitarian crisis in the world. By year’s end, UN agencies estimated that 17.8 million people in Yemen were food insecure and 8.4 million were at risk of famine. Economic and public service collapse left more than 16 million Yemenis without access to safe water and sanitation, and 16.4 million without proper healthcare. All of these factors played into an outbreak of cholera in 2017 that surpassed 1 million suspected cases by December – the largest cholera epidemic ever recorded in a single year. The UN’s 2017 humanitarian appeal for Yemen amounted US$2.3 billion, of which the international community had funded 70.5 percent by year’s end… Continue reading Analysis December 20, 2017 28:34 MIN Trump and the Yemen War: Misrepresenting the Houthis as Iranian proxies By Adam Baron, Waleed Alhariri and Anthony Biswell Executive Summary: The involvement of numerous foreign actors on all sides of the Yemen war has not changed the fact that fundamentally the conflict remains tied to local dynamics. This is particularly true with regard to the Houthis, the militant group currently controlling much of Yemen’s north and facing off against forces associated with the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Saudi-led military coalition. The administration of United States President Donald Trump has been a vociferous opponent of Iran – along with its Gulf Arab allies and the Yemeni government – and has advanced a conception of the Houthis as agents of Iran and a policy that aims to “hit Iran in… Continue reading Analysis December 16, 2017 06:22 MIN The Last Stronghold of Yemenis: How Has the War Changed Ma’rib? At first glance, Ma’rib appears to be an intense Yemen resisting collapse. One of the last strongholds for the "Republic of Yemen" as a state for all its citizens. This might sound as overloading the place with symbolism, but even this stems from a profound feeling that very place inspires, despite all the challenges it is facing. It also stems from the city’s stubborn clinging to its "Yemenihood" rather than "Ma’ribiness", whereby all other Yemeni regions resort to and are nervous about tiny identities and pre-national identifications. Ma’rib is, above all, a major battlefield in the current war in Yemen. This confuses it, affects it and ultimately transforms it. The fact that it is the governorate from which grand battle… Continue reading Analysis December 13, 2017 12:18 MIN Yemen after Saleh Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s killing last week reverberated throughout Yemen and the wider region. As the most dominant figure in the country for more than 30 years, the implications of his demise are formidable. To garner a deeper understanding of how the outlook has changed for the ongoing conflict and the country in general, the Sana’a Center asked seven experts on Yemen for their insight. Maysaa Shuja al Deen | Yemeni journalist and non-resident fellow at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies Prospects for peace with the Houthis controlling Sana’a At a time when the Houthi military’s grip on Sana’a has tightened – along with increased arrests, killings and censorship of social media and the internet – Houthi… Continue reading The Yemen Review December 7, 2017 22:22 MIN Yemen at the UN – November 2017 Review Summary: In November, long-simmering tensions between the Houthis and the allied forces of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh erupted into armed clashes on the streets of Sana’a. Sana’a Center analysis identified a decisive factor in the battles being that the tribal groupings surrounding the capital largely abandoned Saleh; this helped Houthi fighters seize the entire city and kill Saleh in early December. The death of the country's long-time strongman threw vast new complexities and uncertainties into the Yemeni conflict, though several near-term consequences appeared likely, including: the dissolution of the General People’s Congress (GPC) party in its current form; the weakening of Houthi frontlines with the loss of Saleh-allied divisions, and increased security risks for the Houthis as they… Continue reading News December 5, 2017 03:31 MIN Serious Risk of Mental Health Crisis in Yemen, Say Experts Sana’a and New York, December 5, 2017 – Yemenis face serious mental health risks, but the issue is being neglected, says a new study released today by the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, Columbia Law School’s Human Rights Clinic, and the Mailman School of Public Health. The groups announced the start of a groundbreaking new joint project to research and improve mental health in Yemen. “During the past three years of armed conflict, Yemenis have been continuously exposed to serious harm and trauma, including air strikes, threats and attacks from armed groups, forced disappearances, torture, a cholera epidemic, and food and job insecurity,” said Farea Al-Muslimi, a prominent Yemeni scholar and Chairman of the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies. “The… Continue reading Analysis November 30, 2017 31:37 MIN The Impact of War on Mental Health in Yemen: A Neglected Crisis Executive Summary: Much of the Yemeni population faces frequent exposure to serious stressors, harm and trauma, whether from food insecurity, unemployment, cholera, arbitrary detention, torture, indiscriminate attacks, air strikes, or weak to non-existent basic public services. The ongoing conflict in Yemen thus has immediate implications for the mental health and well-being of Yemenis. Despite the known long-term adverse effects of poor mental health — including on physical health, family cohesion, education, participation in the workforce, and peace and reconciliation efforts — mental health issues in Yemen have largely been neglected by both domestic authorities and the international community. The challenges to addressing the psychological needs of Yemenis are daunting. The ongoing conflict is continually increasing the breadth and depth of… Continue reading News November 19, 2017 01:10 MIN The Sana’a Center is seeking policy and advocacy interns The Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies announces immediate openings for policy and advocacy interns to assist in the expansion of its Washington, D.C. operations. Duties will include, but not limited to, the following: Monitor Yemen related policy developments in the White House, Congress and other arms of the US government. Attend meetings with partner organizations, officials and members of congress and various governmental and non-governmental entities in Washington DC. Assist in the drafting of monthly newsletters and contribute to publications. Conduct background research on particular issues and government policies. Plan and implement events sponsored by SCSS in Washington DC. Qualifications: Interns could be enrolled in an undergraduate degree or have a B.A. in International Relations, Conflict Studies, International Development, related… Continue reading News November 16, 2017 01:25 MIN Sana’a Center organizes unprecedented international press visit to Yemen The Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies organized an international press delegation visit to Yemen’s Marib governorate during the first week of November, including senior correspondents from North American and European print and broadcast media. This unprecedented foreign media access to Marib – and to Yemen generally following more than two and a half years of conflict in the country – was granted to almost 20 journalists representing media outlets such as The New York Times, Reuters, NPR, The Independent, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, Neue Zürcher, and others. In Marib the delegation met with local leaders, political party representatives, security chiefs, civil society heads, political activists, prominent businessmen, the war-wounded and families of detainees, while also meeting with tribal chiefs from… Continue reading The Yemen Review November 11, 2017 20:33 MIN Yemen at the UN – October 2017 Review Summary: In October, the annual United Nations Children and Armed Conflict report stated that Saudi Arabia was guilty of grave violations of the rights of children for its military actions in Yemen. This placed Saudi Arabia on the report’s so-called “child killer” list. Other belligerent parties to the Yemeni conflict named to the list were Houthi militants and the allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemeni government forces, pro-government militias and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Proposed legislation in the United States House of Representatives to end American support for the Saudi-led military coalition intervention in Yemen gained bipartisan backing through October. By month’s end, however, both Democratic and Republican leaders agreed to strip the legislation of… Continue reading Analysis November 4, 2017 20:17 MIN “There are many devils” – A conversation with Governor of Taiz Ali al-Mamari Taiz city and the wider governorate have been an active frontline in the Yemeni conflict for more than two and a half years. Fighters from the Houthi movement and allied forces of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh first stormed Taiz in early 2015, with local resistance groups soon taking up arms against them. Fighting has raged since, with the anti-Houthi forces receiving nominal support from the internationally recognized government of Yemen and the Saudi-led military coalition backing it. Ali al-Mamari, an esteemed former member of the Parliament of Yemen, became the official local government representative of Taiz in 2016, when President Abdo Rabbu Mansour Hadi appointed him governor of Taiz. Al-Mamari was in Beirut, Lebanon last month and spoke at… Continue reading