Tribes and Politics in Yemen: A History of the Houthi ConflictTribes and Politics in Yemen tells the story of the Houthi conflict in Sa'dah Province, Yemen, as seen through the eyes of the local tribes. In the West the Houthi conflict, which erupted in 2004, is often defined through the lenses of either the Iranian-Saudi proxy war or the Sunni-Shia divide. Yet, as experienced by locals, the Houthi conflict is much more deeply rooted in the recent history of Sa'dah Province. Its origins must be sought in the political, economic, social and sectarian transformations since the 1960s civil war and their repercussions on the local society, which is dominated by tribal norms. From the civil war to the Houthi conflict these transformations involve the same individuals, families and groups, and are driven by the same struggles over resources, prerogatives, and power. This book is based on years of anthropological fieldwork expertise both on the ground and through digital anthropological approaches. It offers a detailed account of the local complexities of the Houthi conflict and its historical background and underscores the absolute imperative of understanding the highly local, personal, and non-ideological nature of internal conflict in Yemen. |
Contents
The Interior View of a War | 1 |
1 Territories and Societies | 11 |
Legacies of the Past 19622004 | 35 |
The Sadah Wars 200410 | 151 |
Conclusion | 343 |
Notes | 355 |
| 419 | |
| 439 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abū accessed 22 July Aḥmad al-Hüthi al-Jawf al-Qaeda al-Razzāmī al-Shāmī al-ʿUṣaymāt Alī armed forces Badr al-Dīn al-Ḥūthī Bakīl Banī Bāqim battles became borderland Brandt ceasefire civil clan confederation Dahm Ḍaḥyān Dhū district Doha Doha Agreement Dresch elections Fāris Fayṣal feud fighting Ghamr Gingrich government’s Hamdān Ḥasan Ḥāshid Haykel Houthi conflict Houthi movement Husayn Ḥusayn al-Ḥūthī imamate International Crisis Group Interview Iṣlāḥ Jabal Jumāʿah Khawlān last accessed 22 leaders leadership Lichtenthäler Manāʿ Mareb Press Marrān mediation ment military Muḥammad Mujallī Munabbih Najrān party political President Salih Qatar Rāziḥ regime republican royalist sādah Saḥār Salafi Ṣāliḥ Sanaʿa Saudi Arabia Saudi border sayyid Saʿdah area Saʿdah city Saʿdah governorate Saʿdah region Saʿdah wars senior shaykh shaykhly lineages Sufyān Sūq Ṭāʾif territory tion Treaty of Jeddah tribal tribes tribesmen Wāʾilah Weir Wikileaks Yaḥyā Yemeni Yemeni government Zaydi Zaydi revival Zaydism ʿAbdullah al-Aḥmar ʿAlī Muḥsin ʿĀmir ʿAmrān ʿUthmān