Yemen

The Houthis are the one member of the Axis of Resistance that grew stronger over the last year. But airstrikes will not deter their attacks on Red Sea shipping or influence Tehran.

The clampdown represents a new phase of authoritarian rule that will hinder the peace process and inhibit aid to ordinary Yemenis.

The UK needs to narrow its policy goals to concentrate its resources on stabilizing the region’s unresolved conflicts.

Reports that China pushed for a complete end to Houthi attacks are inaccurate: Beijing will not use its limited influence to support the US agenda.

The latest episode of our weekly podcast discusses the US-led strikes in Yemen.

The Houthis will not be discouraged, but the implications for Yemen and its people are dire.

Whatever effect strikes have on Houthi infrastructure, countries such as Russia and China will note the limited contribution the RAF and Royal Navy were able to make.

Air strikes will not prevent further attacks in the Red Sea but have already regionalized Yemen’s civil war and delayed the fragile peace process.

Delegitimizing US policy supports China’s strategy to promote itself as a righteous alternative. But any escalation could unravel its Iran–Saudi diplomacy.

US politicians should not pretend that military strikes can alone solve the problem of Iran and its proxies.

The future of the region is still up for grabs. It will be up to those who believe in democracy and progress to seize it.

Countries across the Middle East have engaged in an unprecedented pattern of reconciliation to protect their interests amid fluctuations in the international order. But without deliberate international support, these new ties can easily unravel.

This sensitive oral history of the conflict’s early years forgoes political analysis to reveal the suffering endured by all Yemenis, says Helen Lackner.

Examining the crossover between water security and climate change with the next two COPs taking place in regions with a history of being water stressed.

The UK has axed its Middle East and North Africa minister. This will leave the Foreign Office stretched thin and constrain Britain’s global influence.

Experiences from the MENA region show that successful energy subsidy reforms must focus strongly on mitigating social impacts.

In diplomatic circles, there is an obsession with how to deal with the Houthis, but the decision to abandon Yemen before the war started has clearly backfired.

Reducing foreign aid damages our international credibility while harming the world’s poorest, writes Baroness Sugg

In a series exploring women in international affairs, Alanoud Alsharekh and Azadeh Pourzand speak to Gitika Bhardwaj about the evolution of women’s rights across the Middle East.

Chatham House experts look ahead at what’s in store for the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries in 2021.

Greg Shapland on a study of hydro-politics in a troubled region

Farea al-Muslimi on how Yemenis are long adept at pursuing their own aims at the expense of their sponsors

To have any chance of success, post-conflict governance models for Iraq and Libya must acknowledge ‘hybrid’ armed groups and incorporate them in rebuilding the state, but focus on improving their accountability.

Elizabeth Palmer witnesses the devastation wrought by a brutal civil war

Peter Salisbury says some are profiting from prolonging the conflict

Amid fractured alliances, the era of a united Yemen is coming to an end

Saudi Arabia’s air strikes on Yemen are causing concern among its allies

The repercussions of drone strikes

Q&A: Ibrahim Mothana, 24, is a Yemeni political activist and co-founder of the Watan Party

Rumours surrounding the health of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, reportedly recuperating in Saudi Arabia from injuries caused by a missile attack on his presidential compound, are now so numerous that it is impossible to know how ill he is. Nevertheless, it seems likely that his 32-year reign as the head of the state will soon be over.

With consistent and long-term support from the US, the Abraham Accords could have a transformative impact on Middle East economic cooperation and regional security.

Getting to a security framework for the Middle East needs the buy-in of all regional actors, enabled by critical external partners. The time to act is now, argue Sanam Vakil and Neil Quilliam.

International policymakers have failed to stabilize states such as Iraq and Yemen, partially because of the assumed binary distinction between state failure and success. This paper advocates for a ‘middle–out’ approach that aims to strengthen the connectivity between the bureaucracy and de facto authorities.

This report examines the common economic factors that continue to drive conflict in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. It also makes specific recommendations to Western policymakers addressing these types of sub-economies in detail.

This paper provides a systemic analysis of Yemen’s ‘chaos state’, aimed at giving policymakers and political leaders the context and tools required to rethink their approach to Yemen.