Yemen
Subtitle: a different political paradigm in context
By: Roby C. Barrett
Contributors: Joint Special Operations University (U.S.)
Series: JSOU report -- 11-3; JSOU report -- 11-3.
Publisher: JSOU Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: MacDill Air Force Base, Fla
Language: eng
Number of pages: 122
Subjects: Politics and government; History; Political stability; Islam; Strategic aspects; Foreign relations; Civilization
Description: In this sweeping study of Yemen, Dr. Barrett argues that while Yemen may be a failed state, it is not a failed society.  Yemen is a complex society with power built on family, clan, and tribal relationships.  It is not one nation-state, but rather a balance of multiple Yemens based on fundamental social, cultural, and sectarian differences.  Within this context Dr. Barrett asserts that now is the time to reconsider U.S. approaches towards Yemen.  We should not seek governmental transformation, but rather strive to reach beyond the central government and weak institutions to engage tribes and clans.  Throughout history, political power has ebbed and flowed between central and decentralized local and regional authority.  Yemen today is no more or less fragmented than it has ever been.  Our goal should be to strive to achieve a balance among these multiple Yemens -- groups that have coexisted, almost in continuous conflict, throughout history.
Notes: "May 2011."

Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-122).

Also available online in PDF format from Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) web site. Adobe Acrobat Reader required.
Table of contents: title: Yemen, the pre-Islamic era to 1500; title: Yemen and the age of empires, 1500 to 1918; title: Yemen, old paradigms and new realities; title: Setting the state, Yemen 1953 to 1962; title: The Yemens' post-imamate 1962 to 1979; title: The Saleh Regime, survival and self-interest; title: Yemen, a nation-state?; title: Conclusion, U.S. interests, and the Yemens.