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  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade On, Assessing Shared Responsibility for Yemen’s Tragedy

    Oct 3, 2024Afrah Nasser

    On September 21, 2014, Yemen’s capital Sanaa awoke to an unexpected turn of events that would reshape the country’s destiny. The Houthi armed group, officially…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Assessing GCC Perspectives on American-British Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

    Sep 11, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    Since last November, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, has been attacking commercial and merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and th…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenClimate and Environment

    Climate Change: A New Battlefield in Yemen’s Ongoing Conflict

    Sep 6, 2024Afrah Nasser

    Like the rest of the world, Yemen is facing the profound effects of climate change on sectors from agriculture and health to the broader economy and natural re…

  • From our Affiliates
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Fragile but Enduring Truce in Yemen 

    Aug 27, 2024Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    On April 1, 2022, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced a two-month truce between the country’s warring parties. This truce was extended twi…

  • Policy Analysis
    UAERegional Relations and Geopolitics

    UAE Restricts US Military Strikes from Its Territory

    May 22, 2024Gregory Aftandilian

    Fearing an attack by Iran or its allied militias in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has restricted US military aircraft from targeting these proxy g…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Divergent Saudi-Emirati Agendas Cripple Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council

    May 15, 2024Afrah Nasser

    Two years into its existence, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) still has not effectively addressed critical problems facing the country: a dire ec…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenEnergy and Economics

    Houthi Red Sea Attacks Have Global Economic Repercussions

    Apr 5, 2024Jim Krane

    The Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping present a new phenomenon in geo-economic conflict: a non-state actor using asymmetric warfare not just to fight conventi…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Instead of Houthi Designation, the United States Should Embrace a Comprehensive Approach

    Feb 28, 2024Afrah Nasser

    On January 17, the United States designated the Houthis in Yemen, also known as Ansar Allah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in response to t…

  • Policy Analysis
    UAERegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The UAE and the Red Sea Security Crisis

    Feb 27, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    Despite the Israeli war on Gaza killing nearly 30,000 Palestinians, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has clung to the Abraham Accords, which it signed with Israe…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    From Gaza to Yemen and Back: The Biden Administration’s Confused Strategy

    Feb 1, 2024Nabeel A. Khoury

    On January 17, the Biden administration announced it was adding Yemen’s Houthis (also called Ansar Allah) to the US terrorist list. The move returned the rebel…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Iran Between Managing Allies and Modulating Its Deterrence

    Jan 25, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    This is a bad time for Iran to become embroiled in an expanding regional war that pits the Islamic Republic and its allies in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen against …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Is Strong in the Red Sea but Weak in Gaza

    Jan 24, 2024Gregory Aftandilian

    After enduring weeks of regional tension, including Houthi rebel attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and on American commercial vessels, the Biden administratio…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Important Considerations for the Middle East in 2024

    Jan 10, 2024Yara M. Asi Daniel Brumberg Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Laurie King Dana El Kurd Yousef Munayyer

    The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip will play a major role in shaping what unfolds in the Middle East in 20…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Assessing Yemen as a Second Front in the Gaza War

    Nov 30, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    On November 19, Yemen’s Houthis hijacked a cargo ship indirectly linked to Israel as it was traveling in the Red Sea. Much like their firing of missiles toward…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenEnergy and Economics

    Yemen’s War Economy: A Key Factor in the Ongoing Conflict

    Sep 20, 2023Afrah Nasser

    As Houthi negotiators leave Saudi Arabia after five days of talks with Saudi officials regarding the contours of a compromise solution to Yemen’s ongoing confl…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Thorny Relationship between Yemen’s Government and the Southern Transitional Council

    May 3, 2023Afrah Nasser

    In Yemen, the Southern Movement calling for separation between the North and South of Yemen is controversial. For those who oppose it, it is a simple secession…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action

    Mar 22, 2023Charles W. Dunne

    All US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen and the Saudi-Iran Rapprochement

    Mar 22, 2023Nabeel A. Khoury

    In the closing scene of the 1942 film Casablanca, Humphrey Bogart, walking off into the fog with his occasional nemesis as they plan their next move together, …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Oman’s Interests and Role in the Conflict in Yemen

    Mar 14, 2023Afrah Nasser

    In the course of the conflict in Yemen, Oman’s role has evolved substantially and in various ways. Currently, expectations are high that the sultanate will be …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenInternational Law

    Child Soldiers in Yemen: Cannon Fodder for an Unnecessary War

    Feb 2, 2023Afrah Nasser

    Recruitment of children as actual or auxiliary soldiers in Yemen’s ongoing war is one of the most dire developments in the conflict since its initial eruption …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen in Limbo: No War, Yet Still No Peace

    Dec 15, 2022Afrah Nasser

    Afrah Nasser discusses the current stalemate in Yemen following the expiration of a UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement, looking at actions by all parties to the …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Flaws and Failures of International Humanitarian Aid to Yemen

    Oct 20, 2022Afrah Nasser

    In a July 2022 report on the UN’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Yemen, the UN Inter-Agency Humanitarian Evaluation Steering Group concluded that “the …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen’s Prospects for Unity Are Uncertain after Many Years of War

    Jul 28, 2022Afrah Nasser

    In 2018, the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on Yemen suggested that the Yemeni State had begun to fragment as a result of a conflict that i…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    The Biden Administration Is Struggling to Develop a Middle East Strategy

    Jun 10, 2022Daniel Brumberg

    Despite the declining capacity of the United States to shape the Middle East’s strategic architecture, it is unlikely that effective regional solutions to secu…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Offers Hope Amid Uncertainty

    May 24, 2022Gregory Aftandilian

    The surprise resignation of Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi in early April and his immediate replacement by an eight-member Presidential Leadership Coun…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Ceasefire and a Presidential Council, but Uncertainties Abound in Yemen

    Apr 18, 2022Imad K. Harb

    Another chapter in Yemen’s domestic developments and regional entanglements seems to have begun, but with no assurances that it will have a happy ending. Follo…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Yemen: The Failure of International Diplomacy

    Mar 3, 2022Nabeel A. Khoury

    The latest escalation in Yemen, particularly the cross-border rocket fire by the Ansar Allah militia (the Houthis) and the retaliatory aerial bombardment by th…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Houthi Intransigence Is Changing the US View of the Conflict in Yemen

    Dec 21, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    A combination of offensive military actions by the Houthi rebels and stalled peace talks to try to end the civil war in Yemen have changed the way the United S…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Biden’s Yemen Conundrum

    Oct 5, 2021Nabeel Khoury

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan traveled to Riyadh on September 27 and was accompanied by US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking. The visit highl…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Oman’s Diplomatic Agenda in Yemen

    Jun 30, 2021Giorgio Cafiero

    A flurry of diplomatic activities and high-level meetings between Omani officials and their counterparts from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, the United Sta…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Attaining the Difficult Peace in Yemen

    Jun 9, 2021Gregory Aftandilian

    After displaying some optimism about reaching a cease-fire and peace deal in Yemen, the Biden Administration is facing the stark reality that these objectives …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Yemen’s Critical Moment

    Apr 21, 2021Nabeel A. Khoury

    Tim Lenderking, the American special envoy for Yemen, recently attended a meeting in Germany with representatives of the five permanent members of the United N…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Time to Rethink International Intervention in Yemen

    Apr 7, 2021Nadwa Al-Dawsari

    Ten years ago, youth-led peaceful protests spread in Yemen demanding political reforms and the removal of the corrupt regime of former President Ali Abdullah S…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Pompeo’s Departing Sabotage in Yemen

    Jan 19, 2021Imad K. Harb

    With less than two weeks in office before he checks out of Foggy Bottom, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo designated Yemen’s Houthi movement a foreign terrorist …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Yemen May Be a Priority for Biden and the Democrats

    Nov 20, 2020Gregory Aftandilian

    As President-elect Joe Biden assembles his team and sets his priorities for the next four years, there has been much speculation as to what he will focus on in…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Riyadh Agreement 2.0 Changes Nothing in Yemen

    Aug 19, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel Khoury contends that the lack of trust between Yemen’s Hadi government and southern secessionists is likely to at least delay the implementation of the …

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Unabated War and Descent into Chaos in Yemen

    Jun 30, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    Nabeel Khoury argues that despite the many mistakes made by Yemen's political leaders and factions and the regional and international communities, the country'…

  • Viewpoint
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Unified Yemen May Soon Cease to Exist

    Apr 27, 2020Imad K. Harb

    With President Hadi too weak to respond to the self-rule declaration by the UAE- supported Southern Transitional Council, and Saudi Arabia too economically tro…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Yemen: Order of Battle Trumps Peace

    Feb 3, 2020Nabeel A. Khoury

    Military clashes in Yemen will not advance the interests of the warring parties, cautions Nabeel Khoury, who sees that victory there is only pyrrhic amid the d…

  • From our Affiliates
    YemenRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Riyadh Agreement on Yemen: Arrangements and Chances of Success

    Nov 18, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    The Riyadh Agreement’s success will depend in large part on the local parties’ conviction that it serves their purposes at this time more than continued war do…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Learning to Say “No” To Saudi Arabia on Iran and Yemen

    Sep 25, 2019Daniel Brumberg

    Daniel Brumberg writes that against the background of the White House’s escalating conflict with Tehran, Washington seems unwilling or unable to break its habi…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Attacks on Saudi Oil Installations are a Game Changer

    Sep 17, 2019Khalil E. Jahshan Kristian Coates Ulrichsen Abdulwahab Al-Qassab Joe Macaron Imad K. Harb

    The latest attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations are a game changer in Saudi domestic politics and in regional and international affairs.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Crumbling Saudi-Emirati Alliance in Yemen May Change US Gulf Policy

    Sep 4, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    The UAE's backing of Yemen’s southern separatists has angered Saudi Arabia and helped lead to a reevaluation of American policy toward the conflict. More volat…

  • Policy Analysis
    SomaliaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Somalia Share Yemen’s Fate?

    Aug 28, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The UAE’s support of the secessionist leaders of Somaliland and Puntland in realizing their costly dream of independence is likely to throw Somalia and the sur…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Conflict in Aden: Implications of the Pro-Hadi Forces’ Defeat

    Aug 26, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    There remain serious obstacles on the road to secession by Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, especially the contrary aims and programs in the various sout…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Changes in UAE Policy: Reasons and Motivations

    Aug 20, 2019Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS)

    he UAE considers this as the right moment to distance itself from confrontation, anticipating US-Iranian negotiations that might leave it to harvest the fruits…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Saudi Arabia May Be on Its Own in Yemen

    Jul 15, 2019Imad K. Harb

    The UAE’s withdrawal from Yemen highlights the serious problems facing the war effort there. This situation puts Saudi Arabia in a difficult position and force…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Child Soldiers in Yemen: One Element of a Humanitarian Disaster

    Jul 8, 2019Annelise Adrian

    ACW intern Annelise Adrian reports on the use of child soldiers in the Yemen war by both the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthi rebel group. This is one of the…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaSecurity and Defense

    How a Legal Loophole is Helping Trump Sell Arms to Saudi Arabia

    May 28, 2019Marcus Montgomery

    President Trump is using tensions with Iran to bypass Congress and push through weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Is Partition Becoming a Reality in Yemen?

    May 22, 2019Imad K. Harb

    If Yemen’s southern secessionists succeed in establishing a UAE-controlled rump state, Saudi Arabia will have to contend with either continuing the conflict in…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    As Congress Scrutinizes Yemen, Spotlight Shines on Saudi Arabia and Its Partners

    Apr 9, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Congress's vote to end US support for the war in Yemen reflects growing anger at Saudi Arabia. That anger is also extending to two of the kingdom’s closest all…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Deteriorating Circumstances in Syria and Yemen Overshadow US Tactical Success

    Jan 16, 2019Charles W. Dunne

    Changing circumstances in Syria and Yemen and Washington’s shifting strategies have exposed the Trump Administration’s claims of success as threadbare.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    What will the Middle East look like in 2019?

    Jan 1, 2019Marwan Kabalan

    In 2019, old conflicts in the Middle East will persist and new ones might erupt.

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    US Senate Votes to Pressure Saudi Arabia

    Dec 14, 2018Marcus Montgomery

    Corker's resolution to cut off American assistance to the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen is a rebuke to President Trump and the administration.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Now-Halted War in Hodeida: Was It a Cover for Khashoggi’s Murder?

    Nov 15, 2018Imad K. Harb

    The resumption of fighting around Hodeida cannot be separated from the Saudi attempt to deflect the international community’s attention away from its responsib…

  • Viewpoint
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Is the United States Serious about Ending the Yemen Conflict?

    Nov 2, 2018Khalil E. Jahshan

    Bipartisan congressional pressure and the Khashoggi murder may have forced the Trump Administration to revise its position on Yemen.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense

    US Involvement in Yemen: Changing Course Required as Disaster Worsens

    Sep 26, 2018Charles W. Dunne

    With no end in sight, no exit strategy, and little to show for its involvement so far, the US should revise its strategy soon or face mounting international an…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Complications of the Houthis’ Role in the Red Sea

    Aug 23, 2018Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    The Houthis’ attack on two Saudi Arabian tankers near the Bab al-Mandab waterway prompts questions about whether they and Iran can disrupt shipping in the Red …

  • Viewpoint
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Congress is Rattled by the US Role in Yemen—But Will It Matter?

    Aug 22, 2018Marcus Montgomery

    Criticism from Capitol Hill has been largely symbolic because few in the Republican majorities in the House and Senate have opted to challenge the president on…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Hodeida and the Changing American Position

    Jun 18, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    After opposing Saudi-UAE plans to take the vital Hodeida port, the Trump Administration is now supporting the operation to show it will actively oppose so-call…

  • Viewpoint
    LevantInternational Law

    The United States Abdicates Its Responsibilities in the Middle East

    May 17, 2018Imad K. Harb

    It is impossible to see how the massacre of unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza or the moving of the American embassy to Jerusalem will help chart a way out…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    External Actors Complicate Resolving the Yemeni Conflict

    Apr 25, 2018Gregory Aftandilian

    Although the Houthis and the Hadi government show no signs of compromise, Yemen’s conflict continues to drag on largely because external actors are pursuing ag…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense

    Strategic Considerations of the UAE’s Role in Yemen

    Mar 9, 2018Abdulwahab Al-Qassab

    There are legitimate questions about whether the UAE is interested in keeping Yemen unified and sovereign under a national government recognized by the interna…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Fits and Starts Characterize UN Mediation in Yemen, Syria, and Libya

    Feb 7, 2018Mohammed Cherkaoui

    United Nations diplomacy regarding Yemen, Syria, and Libya may be undergoing a period of fatigue, or perhaps exhaustion, in searching for efficient formulas to…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfSecurity and Defense

    The Aden Battle and Yemen’s De Facto Partition

    Feb 2, 2018Joe Macaron

    It is clear from ongoing developments in the Middle East that the United States and Russia will continue to play a role that meets their own national interests…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaThe GCC

    Costly Mistakes in Saudi Decision-Making in Yemen and Lebanon

    Dec 27, 2017Imad K. Harb

    Saudi Arabia’s mistakes and poor decision-making in Yemen and Lebanon have been at the heart of recent failures to deal with the two countries and have allowed…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaDemocracy and Governance

    Implications of Saleh’s Assassination on Yemen’s Future

    Dec 8, 2017Joe Macaron

    For the Iranian regime, Yemen remains a low-risk investment at Saudi Arabia’s border; and the impression in Tehran is that Saleh’s assassination forced Riyadh’…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Trump Embraces the Saudi Vision of the Yemen Conflict

    Nov 22, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    President Trump has adopted the Saudi leadership’s position that the Yemen conflict is a case of Iranian and proxy adventurism that needs to be rolled back and…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Trump Administration’s Wishful Policies in the Yemen Conflict

    Sep 13, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    Prolonging the Yemeni conflict with unending military assistance to the Saudi-led campaign has been a disaster. The long-suffering Yemeni people deserve a chan…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Troubling Ambiguities in the UAE’s Role in Yemen

    Sep 8, 2017Imad K. Harb

    The UAE’s ambiguous policies in Yemen expose the entire restoration of Yemeni legitimacy to uncertain circumstances, put it and Saudi Arabia at cross purposes,…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Yemen Conflict and Its Elusive Political Solution

    Jun 26, 2017Gregory Aftandilian

    Overshadowed by the conflict in Syria, Yemen continues to suffer from an internal civil war, a regional proxy war, and a grave humanitarian crisis. Unfortunate…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Deterring Iran in Yemen: Will the United States Join the Hodeida Operation?

    Apr 19, 2017Joe Macaron

    The United States debates whether it wants to assist in evicting the Houthis out of Yemen's Hodeida.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfThe GCC

    Developments in Yemen and American Strategic Calculations

    Feb 8, 2017Imad K. Harb

    It has been three years since Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference concluded its work to set the stage for a constitution for a six-region federated state. Thi…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Courting the Houthis did not Yield Peace Deal in Yemen

    Jun 22, 2016Joe Macaron

    United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed briefed the Security Council on June 21, 2016 marking 60 days of relentless diplomatic efforts …