Saudi Arabia

Yemen Review section July 15, 2024 06:19 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 Socotra’s Forgotten Travelers By Saad al-Ajmi al-Socotri Yemen’s civil war has cast a shadow over Socotra, the Indian Ocean archipelago governorate, and the daily lives of its residents. Before the war began in 2014, there were three flights to and from the islands. The first was operated by Yemenia Airways, the second by small local operator Felix Airways, and the third by the Yemeni Ministry of Defense, dedicated to transporting soldiers, their families, and people with limited income. After the start of the conflict, the ministry and Felix Airways halted their flights, while Yemenia Airways remained operational, but with interruptions that sometimes lasted for months. Ticket prices have risen steadily, with a one-way ticket from Socotra to Mukalla in Hadramawt now more than three times its pre-war… Continue reading Analysis July 15, 2024 06:23 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 What a New President and a Looming Succession Means for Iran’s Yemen Policy By Thomas Juneau The death of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, as well as the foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in a helicopter accident on May 19 raises the question of the impact of their disappearance from the scene on the country’s foreign policy regarding Yemen. The answer for the short term is straightforward: Raisi’s death will have a marginal impact on the country’s foreign policy, in general and specifically in Yemen. In the mid to longer term, however, the situation becomes less clear because of the eventual succession to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 85 years old and has had cancer. Because Raisi was a potential candidate to succeed him, his death changed the dynamics… Continue reading Editorial July 2, 2024 03:09 MIN Quarterly: April-June 2024 The Houthi Crackdown on Yemeni Voices and Civil Society: Silence is Not an Option The arrests of dozens of Yemeni aid and NGO workers in recent weeks on allegations of spying for the United States and Israel is no run-of-the-mill crackdown on civil society, but an unprecedented assault that breaks the social norms of political engagement in Yemeni culture. Never have the repressive practices of previous regimes stooped to rounding up dozens of employees of local and international aid organizations that had been working with official approval for years, including the UN, World Bank, and foreign embassies. Whole families, including children, are being held. A series of dramatic TV ‘confessions’ have been aired, humiliating Yemenis who have been in incommunicado detention without formal indictments. After years of serving the country diligently for the sake… Continue reading Analysis June 5, 2024 34:33 MIN Houthi Media: A Study in Ideological Warfare By Burhan Ahmed In April 2023, a Saudi delegation was invited to visit the Houthi-held capital of Sana’a. Over the next couple of days, the media arm of the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) distributed a series of photographs to international and local media outlets featuring Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, smiling warmly in a stately reception hall and shaking the hand of Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed bin Saeed al-Jaber. These photos were extensively reprinted, appearing on NBC, Reuters, BBC, and Al-Arabiya, as well as in local outlets from the Baltics to Beijing. This sleek image of Houthi diplomacy is far from the militant and adversarial rhetoric circulated by founder Hussein al-Houthi and the outrage voiced by insurgent… Continue reading Publications May 15, 2024 41:12 MIN The Role of the Judiciary in Achieving Transitional Justice and Reconciliation in Yemen By Mohammed Al-Shuwaiter An almost decade-long conflict has severely impacted Yemen's judiciary, weakening its already fragile infrastructure and further undermining its competence and credibility. Additionally, the judiciary has faced political polarization, diminishing trust in its neutrality and casting doubt on its ability to handle politically sensitive cases associated with transitional justice post-conflict. Notwithstanding the challenges, efforts must be exerted for the judiciary to assume a foundational role in post-conflict Yemen and serve as a channel for restoring the rule of law and reinstating public trust in state institutions. Following a comprehensive review of the transitional justice landscape in Yemen, including an examination of the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference, Yemen’s 2015 draft constitution, the draft transitional justice laws from 2012 and 2014,… Continue reading Editorial April 9, 2024 03:58 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Protect Yemen’s Path to Peace Just six months ago, backchannel Saudi-Houthi peace talks were nearing their conclusion. The basic outlines of a deal were known to government parties and the external players involved in the Yemeni crisis. Many objected to its terms, but Saudi Arabia’s stranglehold over the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) made it feel like a fait accompli. Members of the PLC doubted that the Houthis would ever invite them back into a unified government, except in the most superficial manner. The Southern Transitional Council (STC) feared that the right to self-determination in areas of the former southern state would slip down the agenda. The US, which had been pushing for Saudi Arabia to end the war since 2021, became nervous that Riyadh was… Continue reading Analysis April 9, 2024 05:05 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Iran’s View of Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea: Protecting Gains and Limiting Costs By Thomas Juneau The war in Gaza has presented the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) with an opportunity to consolidate power inside Yemen and expand its regional influence. To achieve these aims, the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks against shipping in the Red Sea. Domestically, this has allowed them to mobilize strong pro-Palestinian feeling among the Yemeni population. Regionally, it has helped the Houthis further establish themselves as an emerging power, as they have demonstrated that they have both the capability and the intent to obstruct shipping in one of the global economy’s crucial maritime chokepoints. To understand Iran’s interests and perceptions regarding the crisis in the Red Sea, it is useful to examine its approach to Yemen prior to Hamas’s attack on… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 26:36 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 The Economy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: January-March 2024 By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi The re-designation of the Houthis as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT) by the Biden administration, which took effect on February 16, has sparked a complex debate. The move follows a series of Houthi missile attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. The designation allows the US Treasury to impose sanctions on individuals and entities affiliated with the Houthis, potentially hindering their ability to fund activities deemed “terrorism” by the US. American citizens and companies are now prohibited from doing business with the Houthis unless they receive special permission. Even companies partially owned by the Houthis or related blacklisted groups are off-limits. Outside the US, the designation sends a strong message to other countries… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 9, 2024 19:34 MIN Quarterly: January-March 2024 Politics and Diplomacy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: January-March 2024 By Ned Whalley The political situation in Yemen has been completely upended by the regional and domestic fallout wrought by Houthi attacks on maritime shipping and the conflict in Gaza. Peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) are now on hold indefinitely, and the future of a seemingly imminent deal is now unclear. Attacks on vessels transiting the Red Sea have continued despite more than two months of American and British airstrikes, which inject further uncertainty into the conflict. The Houthis have built a propaganda campaign around their operations to build support and consolidate control. The divided internationally recognized government lacks the capacity to respond, and with few good options, the West’s strategy remains unclear. With negotiations stalled, Yemen… Continue reading Main Publications March 8, 2024 47:08 MIN Development is Coming: Be Careful What You Wish For By Dr. Nadia Al-Sakkaf, Alex Harper, and Joel Thorpe Since 2021, Yemenis have become more strident in their calls for new and better ways of providing aid. Yemeni experts have warned that prolonged cycles of short-term humanitarian aid can entrench dependence and have called for a transition toward development approaches that could set the foundation for a sustainable post-conflict economy. Despite vastly different interpretations and positions over what development means in practice, this shift is now happening, albeit slowly. New frameworks and coordination mechanisms are emerging from the UN compound in Sana’a, the World Bank offices in Amman's Abdali Boulevard, and the conference rooms of Riyadh and Brussels, which are set to fundamentally change the way aid is delivered in Yemen over the coming decade. The effect of these… Continue reading The Yemen Review February 15, 2024 42:27 MIN The Yemen Annual Review 2023 Peace talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) dominated Yemeni politics over the last year. The negotiations began as backchannel discussions in October 2022 after the Houthis resisted UN pressure to renew a truce first agreed in April 2022 by making a series of eleventh-hour demands. The talks continued despite Houthi attacks on oil terminals in southern Yemen in late 2022 that effectively put the internationally recognized government under a form of economic blockade. As the months progressed, the government’s increasingly dire economic situation pressured it to accept the Saudi policy of seeking a settlement with Houthi authorities, seemingly at almost any price. The broad terms of a Saudi-Houthi agreement first became public in January, when international… Continue reading Analysis January 12, 2024 08:04 MIN US and UK Strike Houthi Targets in Yemen: Reaction from Sana’a Center Experts By Abdulghani Al-Iryani, Maysaa Shuja Al-Deen, Hussam Radman, Maged Al-Madhaji, and Bilqees Al-Lahbi The United States and Britain carried out air and missile strikes against Houthi targets in the early hours of January 12, following two months of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The maritime attacks caused major shippers to reroute, disrupting international commerce and threatening a new round of global inflation. The airstrikes appear to have struck targets in Sana’a, Sa’ada, Hajjah, Hudayadh, and Taiz governorates. Houthi authorities said five people were killed and six wounded, and vowed to continue Red Sea operations as long as Israel’s war on Gaza continues. The United States has accused Iran of providing the military capabilities and intelligence behind the Houthi attacks. The US-UK action was supported militarily by Australia, Bahrain, Canada,… Continue reading