GPC

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…

In response to dramatic regional developments stemming from the Gaza war and domestic pressure inside Yemen, the Houthis (Ansar Allah) pivoted on several fronts. Houthi leader Abdelmalek al-Houthi quickly stepped in to fill the leadership vacuum atop the Axis of Resistance following the September 27 assassination of his Lebanese ally and mentor, Hassan Nasrallah, which severely weakened Hezbollah in its…

The Houthi Security and Intelligence Service has continued airing forced confessions by former employees of the US embassy in Sana’a, making increasingly outlandish claims of decades-long US spy operations in the country. The latest episodes, aired June 29, July 14, August 17, and September 1-2, focused on purported efforts to influence Yemeni culture, society, politics, and the education sector. Previous…

Disputes over land and property can represent a serious obstacle to peace. Years of armed conflict break down legal protections and lead to extralegal actions like seizures, evictions, and land redistribution. Lack of protections can lead people to not feel secure in their homes or neighborhoods – and others feel empowered by absent oversight. As order leaves cities in Yemen,…

A Houthi delegation flew to Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on September 14 for the latest round of negotiations to end nine years of war in Yemen. A year after the United Nations officially brokered a truce in April 2022, talks have slowly shifted from backchannels to direct public meetings. The high visibility of their first-ever confirmed visit to Saudi Arabia…

Since their takeover, the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) has been cautiously but consistently recasting Yemeni society and its political system in their own image. This has involved a crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly, a massive campaign of youth radicalization under the slogan of defending the homeland against “Saudi-Zionist-American aggression,” and restrictions on women’s right to work and travel.…

The General People’s Congress (GPC) is going through an unprecedented period of weakness as it recently marked the 40th anniversary of its founding on August 24. The party was born from the national dialogue conducted in the early 1980s following a brutal civil war, and every Yemeni president since has been a high-ranking member of the party. Former President Ali…

Seven years of war in Yemen have wrought widespread destruction and economic devastation and seen hundreds of thousands flee from their home country. Like many of their compatriots, a great number of Yemeni politicians now live abroad, where most struggle to maintain their power and relevance. While attention often centers on leaders of warring factions, this paper examines the situation…