This review was originally published in the British Yemeni Society Journal.
Yemen in the Shadow of Transition: Pursuing Justice Amid War
By Stacey Philbrick Yadav
Available for purchase here.
This book stands as one of the most significant contributions to understanding contemporary Yemen, offering a dense analysis of events from the 1990s to the present and a grounded examination of the day-to-day challenges of peacebuilding in the context of a protracted war. As Yemen undergoes a radical reshaping of its sociopolitical dynamics, with escalating violence and unresolved historical grievances, the author argues convincingly that justice – broadly defined – is not a luxury to be deferred until after a political settlement but a crucial precondition for any enduring peace.
When the book was first published, the mere mention of transitional justice provoked anxiety among conflict parties and international peace brokers alike. The prevailing UN-led peace approach in Yemen, divided into three tracks, prioritizes Track I, which is largely autonomous and involves direct negotiations between belligerents to reach a political settlement. In contrast, Tracks II and III – focused on national-to-local mid-tier political representatives and civil actors – are considered subservient to Track I. This hierarchy not only hampers efforts to advance justice claims, often deemed too risky before a settlement is reached, but also fails to account for the invaluable peace work taking root despite the absence of a negotiated settlement or peace process.
The book comprises five chapters and a concluding chapter following somewhat a chronological order. The first establishes a solid analytical framework that guides the reader through the subsequent chapters covering Yemen’s unification in 1990, the 1994 civil war, and regime consolidation between 1997 and 2003. The author then deals with the intensifying partisan politics and civil society work leading up to the deadlock between the Joint Meeting Parties and ruling party over electoral reforms in 2009. This period seems – in retrospect – to be a contradictory environment of political repression on the one hand and political pluralism and a thriving civil society on the other. The book then shifts from an examination of partisan and formal politics to extra-partisan mobilization, which was gaining strength as partisan politics were increasingly perceived as ineffective or even complicit with the regime.
Movements like the Southern Hirak, the Zaydi Believing Youth in the north, and Sunni militant groups drew legitimacy from notions of what is referred to in the book as “past sovereignties” combined with cultural and/or religious nostalgia and economic injustices. Heavy-handed repression further radicalised these movements making way for sectarian and regional sentiments to seep in as republican ideals continued to erode under a self-serving regime.
The fourth chapter chronicles the events from the 2011 uprising through the transitional period that culminated in the National Dialogue Conference (NDC) and the lead-up to the war. It offers a profound analysis of the transitional framework’s critical fault lines, such as the blanket amnesties granted to Saleh and his associates – widely regarded as a blatant affront to justice – and was pivotal in plunging the country into full-scale war. It is also critical of narrow notions of representation that undermined the process, as well as of the entrenched paranoia of the domestic political elite and Yemen’s powerful neighbors, who felt they needed to put a lid on the unabating youth dissent, especially as neighboring countries barely evaded such a spillover themselves. However, one of the most significant failures of the transitional period was its myopic focus on formal politics centered around NDC proceedings, neglecting the deteriorating security and economic situations across the country. This oversight proved perilous, leading to the Houthi takeover of Sanaʿa and the subsequent events. Yet, this chapter also highlights breakthroughs in transitional justice, including the pressure that led to a presidential decree in 2013 to form investigation commissions for the 1994 civil war, as well as the remarkable work of the justice team in the NDC, which continues to shape current justice discourse in Yemen.
Chapter Five analyzes the landscape of civil work characterized not just by non-violence but by inclusionary approaches that allow for disagreements while maintaining a minimum level of recognition of adversaries’ rights; a civility that operates against all odds. Taking us through the intricacies of practices such as Yemeni-led knowledge production, new forms of collaborations in hybrid research and advocacy organizations, and local peace initiatives that create pockets of stability and foster a notion of “effective citizenship” under extremely challenging war conditions. The empowering effect of narrating experiences, what the author calls “perspective justice,” and the exercise of Yemeni agency by using this work to influence policymakers and shape thinking on Yemen are thoroughly examined in this chapter. The book also addresses questions of narrow and essentializing representation structures, the gendered impact of the war on political action, and the repositioning of minorities within justice claims as new solidarities are formed.
Finally, the book critiques four oppressive paradigms that dominate approaches to Yemen – securitization, fragmentation, polarization, and humanitarianization – and vividly illustrates how civil actors creatively navigate these restrictive frameworks. It highlights the ongoing challenge of building peace from the ground up, emphasizing the limited willingness of international peace brokers to genuinely learn from successful local peace practices. This reluctance often reduces Yemen’s rich and diverse peacebuilding landscape to a mere advisory role.
One area where the book could have provided a deeper analysis is in its exploration of regional powers’ engagement with justice claims and how the UN-led process responds to that. Although this topic is briefly addressed in the context of the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and a few high-profile incidents, it warrants a more thorough examination. Given the war’s significant regional dimension and the widespread neglect of justice claims across the region, these issues will ultimately need to be negotiated within a broader regional framework. This is particularly crucial as we observe a troubling trend towards exclusive elite bargains, a rushed political settlement, and a faltering UN-led process.
Yemen in the Shadow of Transition is a meticulously crafted book that makes an outstanding contribution to Yemen and broader peace research.