Yemen in Crisis: Devastating Conflict, Fragile Hope

In this incisive, invaluable analysis, Helen Lackner uncovers the roots of the conflicts threatening the very survival of the Yemeni state and its people.

In Yemen, the Middle East’s poorest country, an internationalised civil war started in 2015 causing unprecedented chaos and poverty. Two thirds of the country’s 30 million people need humanitarian assistance, including 17 million suffering extreme hunger and lacking access to a collapsed medical service.

Although the internal struggle between the Huthi movement and the divided factions of the internationally recognised government has severe long-term impact for Yemenis themselves, the international intervention led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, backed by the US and the UK, has worsened instability and fragmentation. Efforts by the UN to help restore peace and a unified state have been frustrated by the obduracy of warring parties.

This new paperback edition includes a preface updating events and a new chapter on the problems of humanitarian aid in the country. It is packed full of information on the current war, the social and political fragmentation it has caused, the economy, politics, and issues of natural resources as well as geopolitical considerations and the role of jihadis.

About the speaker

Helen Lackner has worked as a consultant in social aspects of rural development in over thirty countries in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. She has spent the past five decades researching Yemen, working in the country for fifteen years. Lackner is currently a visiting fellow at the European Council for Foreign Relations, and an associate of the Transnational Institute. She was a Research Associate at SOAS until August 2022. She is a regular contributor to Arab Digest, Oxford Analytica's briefs and Orient XXI. Her books include Yemen, Poverty and Conflict (Routledge, 2023).

Registration

This event will take place in-person and will not be recorded. Seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Complete our registration form to secure your place.

Chair: Gilbert Achcar (SOAS)

Organiser: SOAS Middle East Institute

Contact email: smei@soas.ac.uk