Yemen’s parliament has come to resemble a retirement home. Elections for the legislature were last held 22 years ago on April 27, 2003. Since then, 60 Members of Parliament (MPs), or 20 percent, have died in office. The youngest sitting MP is now 47 years old, while many others have either lost their vitality and public presence to the passage…

April 27 marks the anniversary of the death of Raufah Hassan, who passed away in Cairo in 2011 at the young age of 53. Deeply loved and revered by generations of Yemenis, Raufah Hassan was a pioneer in Yemeni women’s rights and a respected journalist, academic, writer, and intellectual. To countless admirers, however, she represented much more than these titles convey; she was seen as someone who “carried the cultural truth of Yemen” and who was, in essence, a sociologist,…

The formation of the National Political Bloc last November has raised pressing questions about the future of political parties and coalition-building in Yemen. The country has seen several such initiatives over the past two decades, most notably the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), launched in 2003, which effectively mobilized partisan opposition against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime in the years leading…

Since the inauguration of the new US administration, Washington has adopted a fiercer stance against the Houthis, the last resilient pillar of the pro-Iranian Axis of Resistance. The Houthis are the only Iranian ally that have had their power increase in the conflagration with Israel. Their attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea were viewed as a global threat…

On March 15, US President Donald Trump ordered a series of “decisive and powerful” airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthis in response to the group’s attacks on commercial and military vessels in the Red Sea. The operation marks the most significant US military engagement in the Middle East since Trump retook office, with the stated aims of degrading Houthi capabilities and sending…

In mid-2015, Yousef and his extended family escaped from an aerial bombardment near his hometown, Al-Shareefiah, a village outside Haradh in northern Hajjah governorate. The 68-year-old head of a large household had found refuge in Hayran, a nearby district, hoping the airstrikes would stop soon so he and his family could return to their homes and large banana plantation. But…

When they first emerged from the “Believing Youth” movement in 2004, no one could have imagined the Houthis—a small group of local rebels fighting with traditional weapons— would evolve into a military and political force with influence extending across the regional and international landscape. But the Houthis’ development was not merely a matter of geographic expansion or enhanced military capabilities;…

As US airstrikes continue to target Houthi leaders in their strongholds, the prospect of Abdelmalek al-Houthi being eliminated raises important questions about the future of the group. This article first examines the significance of leadership within the Houthi group and the extent to which Abdelmalek al-Houthi influences it. It then challenges a narrative popular among some analysts that the Houthis…

On February 13, 2025, the National Resistance forces, led by Presidential Leadership Council member Tareq Saleh and based on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, announced the seizure of a smuggled shipment of military equipment intercepted en route to the Houthi group (Ansar Allah). The shipment included devices and equipment that suggest the Houthis are working to enhance their drone capabilities by…