Current Analysis

How the Houthis Became “Shi‘a”

It is wrong to code what is happening in Yemen as a Sunni-Shi‘i conflict. The Houthis are not an Iranian proxy but a predominantly local political movement founded in long-standing, Yemen-centric grievances and power struggles. The cynical use of sectarian language casts the conflict in Yemen as par

Anna Gordon, Sarah Parkinson • 10 min read

MER Article

The Ties That Bind

Yemeni-American activist Rabyaah al-Thaibani was born in Ta‘izz, Yemen’s largest city, in 1977. She moved to the United States as a child to join her father, who was working nights cleaning office buildings in Manhattan. She grew up in Brooklyn, attended Columbia University and since has worked in c

Stacey Philbrick Yadav • 9 min read

Current Analysis

Letter to UN Secretary-General Regarding Saudi Arabia's Removal from List of Armies Charged with War Crimes

"The ruling Saudi regime obviously knows how to use its wealth to manipulate dysfunctional international bodies such as the UN. However, in the eyes of the global community it stands charged with overwhelming evidence of war crimes and of fundamental human indecency."

(Author not identified) • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Arabia Incognita

A new anthology from MERIP and Just World Books explores the Arabian Peninsula as "a distinct political unit" whose upheavals reverberate regionally and globally.

The Editors • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Open Letter from Scholars of Yemen

Scholars write for the third time to condemn the actions of the US-Saudi-French alliance violating international humanitarian law in the southern Arabian Peninsula.

(Author not identified) • 2 min read

Current Analysis

Nobel Nota Bene

From Little League banquets to honorary doctorates, it may well be in the nature of award committees to tilt toward hyperbole. Elevating the legacy of the recipient is, among other things, an affirmation of the importance of those who can recognize importance when they see it. The committee that sel

Stacey Philbrick Yadav • 3 min read

Current Analysis

The GCC Needs a Successful Strategy for Yemen, Not Failed Tactics

For the last 45 years, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has tried to mitigate its Yemen problem through short-term tactics, rather than construct and give resources to a strategy for solving it. That policy has failed repeatedly. A bold and lasting transformation is needed, not the same ineffectua

James Spencer • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Yemen's Imposed Federal Boundaries

With the war in Yemen well past its hundredth day, confusion persists as to the underlying causes of the conflict. Far from a sectarian proxy war [http://www.merip.org/mer/mer273/breakdown-gcc-initiative] between Shafi‘is under the patronage of Saudi Arabia and Zaydis backed by Iran, as the mainstre

Tobias Thiel • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Yemen Is Starving, and We're Partly to Blame

Twenty million people in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arab world, are at risk of dying from hunger or thirst. That’s 80 percent of the country’s population, which according to UN agencies badly needs emergency supplies of food and water, along with fuel and medicine. This almost unimaginable c

Chris Toensing • 2 min read

Current Analysis

The Multiple Wars in Yemen

With UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva involving the usual suspects and only a few new faces, it is time to raise the question of Yemen’s future as a state. The talks involve exiled President ‘Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, the Houthi movement Ansar Allah and minor figures from the long-time ruling Gener

Anne-Linda Amira Augustin, Susanne Dahlgren • 5 min read

Current Analysis

Yemen Talks in Geneva

On June 8, Yemen’s (self-)exiled president, ‘Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, conveyed his ideas about UN-sponsored talks in Geneva, due to start on June 15, and downplayed their scope. The conversations are to take place mainly between politicians handpicked by him and his Saudi hosts, on the one hand, and

Gabriele vom Bruck • 4 min read

Current Analysis

Conflict, Forced Migration and Property Claims

Amidst widespread fighting in Iraq and Syria, millions of distressed civilians have fled their homes. In Yemen as well, war has led to mass displacement as people try to escape threats to their lives and livelihoods. These instances of forced migration create overwhelming immediate problems such as

Sandra Joireman, Jon Unruh • 3 min read