Conflict, Peace-Building and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Yemen

Violent conflicts are not new to Yemen. For centuries, the country has been plagued by political and social instability, inadequate and inefficient state institutions, insufficient infrastructure, and absolute poverty. Prior to the current conflict, Yemen was already identified a “failing states”. The current violent conflict has entered its sixth year with little hope for the return of peace to the impoverished country. This paper aims to provide a basic understanding of factors that led to the uprising of 2011 and the eruption of hostilities three years later. For Yemen, the conventional explanation of violent conflicts through economic, social, political, ethnic, and religious grievances is an oversimplification of other realities. This analysis instead suggests that such grievances represent means by which the elite struggle for power and resource-capture. Therefore, in order to arrive at long-lasting peace and prevent reoccurrence of the conflict in the long run, the peace-building process must start by uncovering the root causes of the conflict. On the other hand, post-war reconstruction requires the implementation of a sound economic agenda that involves learning from pre-conflict mismanagement of the economy and experiences of other war-affected countries but taking into consideration the distinct nature of the Yemeni economy and society