Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm in Context

A 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.

The insights provided in Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm In Context plus recent events in Yemen suggest that the time is ripe to reconsider U.S. approaches toward Yemen. Author Dr.Barrett suggests that Yemen cannot be transformed. Good governance, as Western nations would define it, is most likely unachievable. Our policy must deal with multiple Yemens with conflicting  historical, political, economic, and cultural heritages. These are Yemens with identities and values hinged upon familial, clan, and tribal loyalties.

Dr. Barrett, however, argues that while Yemen may be a failed state, it is not  a failed society. This suggests that U.S. policy goals for addressing the root causes of instability and improving governance will have to reach beyond the  central government and weak institutions to engage tribes and clans and to achieve a balance among the multiple Yemens that are in virtual continuous conflict. Dr. Barrett suggests that perhaps the only improvement possible in Yemen is a fluid equilibrium between the various groups and whoever dominates the government in Sana’a, a situation that may in fact mirror in many respects the future for other areas including Afghanistan.

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Foreword ...............................................................................  ix
About the Author ...................................................................  xi
Yemen: A Different Political Paradigm in Context ................... 1
1.Yemen, the Pre-Islamic Era to 1500 ..................................... 7
2.Yemen and the Age of Empires, 1500 to 1918 ................... 17
3.Yemen, Old Paradigms and New Realities ......................... 25
4. Setting the Stage, Yemen 1953 to 1962 ............................. 35
5. TheYemens’ Post-Imamate 1962 to 1979 .......................... 45
6. The Saleh Regime, Survival and Self-Interest ..................... 59
7.Yemen, a Nation-State? ..................................................... 69
8. Conclusion, U.S. Interests and theYemens ........................ 89
Endnotes ............................................................................ 105

This text would be a valuable resource for historians, political scientists, socio-economic students, government students, and others interested in Yemen's history.