Author Description

Dr. Roby Barrett's sweeping study of Yemen's historical legacy and its current social, economic, and political systems is essential reading for all who would seek to understand the challenges to U.S. security interests in southern Arabia and reassess current U.S. strategy in light of recent turmoil there. Knowledge of the political, economic, social, and cultural context is fundamental to the development of a realistic counterinsurgency strategy based on the possible and affordable as opposed to the ideological or theoretical. Whatever the immediate or tactical outcome, Dr. Barrett argues that the ultimate outcome in Yemen is most likely not in doubt. The central theme of Dr. Barrett's monograph is that in Yemen, power is based on family, clan, and tribal relationships and not a national identity. Dr. Barrett builds the case that Yemen as a nation-state is a fiction that largely resides in the minds of Western bureaucrats and analysts. Central authority has been maintained only in balance with tribal, sectarian, and political groups that align with central leaders based on a system of patronage. He advises that throughout Yemen's history there always have been "multiple Yemens with fundamental social, cultural, and sectarian differences" and to view Yemen differently creates a "stumbling block" in the way of developing and executing coherent policy and strategy. Lines on a map do not constitute a nation-state. Whoever rules Yemen today faces significant challenges beyond maintaining power by political juggling. There is an insurgency in Sa'ada Governorate by Huthi rebels, who are Zaydi Shi'a upset with government policy, but a different Zaydi clan and tribe from that of the Hashid al-Ahmars and Saleh himself. Some Huthi are ideologically motivated, others are armed groups with financial motivations, and still others are motivated to defend their land and heritage. There is also an active protest movement in the south where coastal Sunni Shafais are upset with the go