Yemen is in the grip of its most severe crisis in years. The civil war between the Huthi rebels and the Western and Arab supporters of the regime has resulted in thousands killed and three million displaced. Those who remain suffer severe food shortages and a collapsed economy. The struggle for power in the Arab world's poorest but strategically vital nation has serious implications for the region and beyond. While Egypt and Saudi Arabia fear that a Huthi takeover would threaten free passage of oil through the Bab al-Mandab strait, western governments fear a rise of attacks from al-Qa'ida and IS as the country becomes more unstable. In this invaluable analysis, Helen Lackner uncovers the social and political conflicts that threaten the very survival of the state and its people. She reveals the corruption of the country's US-backed autocratic regime and how it failed to address national impoverishment and to plan an equitable economy for Yemen's growing population.

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 four decades researching Yemen, working in the country for fifteen years. She is currently the editor of the Journal of the British-Yemeni Society and is a regular contributor to Oxford Analytica's briefs and to openDemocracy. Her publications include Why Yemen Matters: A Society in Transition.

Maps 8; Glossary 11; Note on Transliteration and Abbreviations 15; Timeline 17; Preface 23; Chapter 1. How the 2011 Uprising and the Transition Led to War 33; Chapter 2. Yemen and the World 67; Chapter 3. The Two Yemeni Republics and Unification 96; Chapter 4. Islamism: Reality and Myth 122; Chapter 5. The Huthi Movement: From Nowhere to Centre Stage 147; Chapter 6. Southern Separatism in Perspective 167; Chapter 7. From Tribes to Elites 190; Chapter 8. Resources Scarcity and Their Capture: Matters of Life and Death 217; Chapter 9. The Economy 235; Chapter 10. The Rural-Urban Nexus 261; Conclusion: Whither Yemen? 287; Notes 297; Select Bibliography and Further Reading 315; Index 321;