Focusing on the fundamental reasons underlying the lasting crisis of the Yemeni Civil War, this book frames contemporary Yemen and assesses prospects beyond the conflict, identifying the factors which will determine its future internal and international characteristics.
Building on Helen Lackner’s profound experience in Yemen, this volume discusses Yemen’s history and state formation, the main political institutions emerging since the Republic of Yemen was established and their role in the war, including the significance of current fragmentation. The volume goes on to discuss climate change, including the water scarcity issue, in the context of resource constraints to economic development and the role of migration. Rural and urban life, as well as the impact of international development and humanitarian aid, are also covered, together with Yemen’s international relations – its interaction with its neighbours as well as Western states. Looking forward, it suggests the type of policies able to give Yemenis the conditions needed for a reasonable standard of living.
Thanks to analysis of determining events, the book will appeal to politicians, diplomats, humanitarian organizations, security analysts, researchers on the Middle East and those generally interested in Yemen. It will also be an essential text for students of international relations, political economy, failing states, development studies and contemporary Middle Eastern history.
Introduction, 1. Modern State Formation, 2. Politics and the Disintegration of a Nation, 3. Constraints on Economic Development, 4. International Relations, Conclusion
Biography
Helen Lackner is Associate Researcher, Middle East Institute, SOAS and Visiting Fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR).
"Yemen: Poverty and Conflict is an outstanding work by an author with profound knowledge of the country and will endure as essential reading for all interested in the future of Yemen."
Dr Noel Brehony, Honorary Vice President and former Chair of the British Yemeni Society
"Lackner has written another valuable and perceptive book on Yemen. Focusing on politics, economics and society, this book is a well-informed, sober and insightful account based on facts and experience gained during her long periods of being in the field. It provides fresh insights into one of the most neglected crises in world affairs."
Marieke Brandt, Institute for Social Anthropology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, and author of Tribes and Politics in Yemen: A History of the Houthi Conflict
"Helen Lackner (author of Yemen in Crisis, Saqi, 2017) has made another major contribution to the literature on contemporary Yemen with her latest book, Yemen: Poverty and Conflict. At its core, this compact volume is a diagnostic for a disastrous decade, which confirmed Yemen as one of the most economically and environmentally vulnerable countries in the Middle East. There doesn’t exist another book in print that so clearly parses Yemen’s multi-layered complexities in an authoritative and accessible manner.
"Any journalist or development practitioner seeking an essential primer on the country would do themselves (and many others) an enormous favour to start with this book."
Ethan Chorin for Arab Digest
"In her new book, by presenting poverty and inequality as central factors that help explain the lasting crisis and instability in Yemen, Lackner develops an approach that is both balanced and politically engaged. Her analysis can inform the public of the complexities and intricacies of the war in that country.
"The author displays a remarkable capacity to contextualize these matters in an accessible way as she sets out the main aspects of Yemen’s complex history. Her book is an essential contribution to breaking the silence that surrounds the Yemeni conflict."
Laurent Bonnefoy for Jacobin
