The Unending War in Yemen

Deniz Kaptan

doi:10.2218/ccj.v2.5414

Abstract

Yemen has been a warzone for at least seven years now. The conflict is seemingly a civil war between the government and opposition forces. It also serves as a proxy war that determines the balance of power between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the region. The government in Yemen is aided by the Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), where Saudi Arabia (as well as other GCC members) purchases military technologies from the United States, Britain, France, and Germany. On the other hand, the opposition groups – the most prominent one being the Houthis – use Iranian technology in their fight. Considering the sophistication of military technology of the US and other Western countries vis-à-vis Iran, the duration of the war in Yemen stands out as a puzzle which this article attempts to explain using state-level analysis. After reviewing the situation since 2014, this article examines two existing arguments regarding the balance of power between Iran and Saudi-backed warring parties, namely, the hearts and minds argument and the military inadequacy arguments. Demonstrating the limitations of these, this article suggests that the Western powers contribute to the perpetuation of the war as they accrue a stream of revenue from arms production.

Highlights

Background and Recent Developments in theRegion the conflict in Yemen has been present for a long time, including during theCold War years, the division in Yemeni society widened and deepened with the wave of uprisings throughout the Middle East in 2011.13 Following the social unrest in Yemen, the thenPresident Sadullah Saleh was forced to resign in 2011, and there was initially a peacefulWezeman
It serves as a proxy war that determines the balance of power between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the region
Even if Iran is backing a part of the opposition forces, there is not one united force against the government, which can be seen as an external advantage for Saudi Arabia, as it relates to Saudi Arabia’s adversaries’ capabilities to respond

Summary

Introduction

Background and Recent Developments in theRegion the conflict in Yemen has been present for a long time, including during theCold War years, the division in Yemeni society widened and deepened with the wave of uprisings throughout the Middle East in 2011.13 Following the social unrest in Yemen, the thenPresident Sadullah Saleh was forced to resign in 2011, and there was initially a peacefulWezeman. This part of the article explains the puzzle in Saudi Arabia’s failure to end a war that has caused huge humanitarian atrocities in Yemen, despite both its external and internal advantages vis-à-vis Iran and the opposition forces, most notably, the Houthis.

Results

Conclusion