The Political Economy of Yemen

The story of Yemen is a very important lesson in how societies on the edge of change can either move forward or self destruct. Unfortunately, Yemen has done the latter. This book focuses on the political and economic developments of Yemen over the past century with an emphasis on the period since 1970. It argues that the structural changes that took place in the Yemeni economy, particularly over the twenty-year period between 1970-1990, created a unique development experience that once collapsed left the majority of Yemenis with little means of survival. When the Gulf Crisis of 1990 caused an end to Yemeni labor migration to the Gulf States, the shock was more severe and disruptive due to the fact that the structure of the Yemeni political economy had been based on this migration being sustained. The aftershock of this event was disturbing for the vast majority of the Yemeni population who were either direct or indirect recipients of these labor remittances. Furthermore, these rents were replaced with another rent that did not trickle down - oil revenues. These revenues significantly shifted the economic and political base away from the general population and narrowed it to a few individuals associated with the government. Although there have been attempts to restructure the economy with the assistance of international agencies, Yemen's economy remains underdeveloped. In fact, it appears ready to collapse under the burden of unemployment, poverty, and rapid population growth. Using an international political economy framework of analysis, this book will examine the main ways that political and economic factors and forces in both the domestic and global domains interact. The objective of this manuscript is to understand this interaction of political and economic variables in the case of Yemen by proffering a structural analysis of the economy. What has been the relationship between the state and markets? What are the main ways the domestic political economy is structured? How has it evolved over time? What has been the role of external forces and actors? What have been the socio-economic effects of economic restructuring in the case of Yemen? What have been the challenges of global capitalism? What was the impact of 9/11 and its aftermath on Yemen's political economy? How have other states reacted to the political and economic situation in Yemen?