The Yemen crisis is not only emanating from the role of internal actors but also is because of engaging and intervening of the regional and extra-regional actors such as Saudi Arabia, the Cooperation Council, the United States and the Zionist regime all of whom have played a critical role in the process of formation of Yemen crisis and its exacerbation. According to this research, the American policymakers argue that engaging Iran at a regional level and the regions that are seen as a strategic depth of social and political bases of this country would lead to the erosion of the regional and political power and capacity of Iran and the resistance front. The main questions of this paper are: what are the main factors involved in the formation of the Yemen crisis and what is the role of the external and internal actors especially Saudi Arabia and the United States in this regard?
The crisis in Yemen has had a structural essence that also relates to the concept of identity. Yemeni political leaders are among the factors that played a role through a polarized structure and under the banner of southern Yemen. By using the political capabilities necessary to play a strategic role, they managed to maintain their political position for twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the changing of the structure of the global system. The root cause of the Yemeni crisis is the inefficient political structures and the lack of a fair distribution of power and resources at the social level as well as the interference of foreign powers, including Saudi Arabia and the United States. This is the case with Yemen since there is no such consensus on the nature of its political developments. Following the Arab revolutions in the region, some consider the Yemen developments as sporadic postmodern revolutions which lack leadership and a definite ideology; in the view of others, these developments are the waves of liberal-democratic revolutions, and some, including most American Republicans and the Islamic Republic of Iran, believe that these developments are a continuation of and inspired by the Islamic Revolutions in general and the Islamic Revolution of Iran in particular.
As far as the social roots of such developments are concerned, some have focused on political factors such as the lack of democracy and freedom in former regimes while others have addressed the economic and cultural factors such as poverty, unemployment and discrimination. Likewise, purposing a syncretic framework that encompasses political, economic and cultural factors, experts have tried to illustrate these developments.
The important point is that Yemen’s political developments are shifting the balance of power in the region. Although the breakdown of the balance of power is unacceptable to the Arab states of the region and their trans-regional allies, the question that is posed here is that what are the factors that influence the formation and continuation of the crisis in Yemen and what is the cause of democratic failure in this country?
This article argues that the geopolitical significance of Yemen for the United States and Saudi Arabia in the debate about the Bab al-Mandeb strait, export of oil and its relationship to the stabilization and creating the balance of power, all in all, have intensified the crisis in this country.
The role and dynamics of regional and transnational actors and the structure and characteristics of political and social power in Yemen are the major variables that affect the Yemen crisis.
Yemen’s Strategic Position
Being located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen is bordered by the Red Sea to the west and the Gulf of Aden to the south. The country’s strategic location has been of great importance since it has provided an access to the Horn of Africa through the southern and western borders, as well as the Socotra Island; more importantly, being situated at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandeb strait, Yemen has been provided with the security of energy and transportation. In fact, the Bab al-Mandeb strait is as important as Suez Canal since a large percentage of the ships passing through the Suez Canal would also traverse this strait.
The security of the Bab al-Mandeb in terms of the transportation of goods and weapons is of importance for all countries that are bordering the Red Sea. For example, during the 1973 war erupted between Egyptian-Syrian forces and Israel, the Yemen Arab Republic, in coordination with Cairo, closed the Bab al-Mandeb strait to inbound Israeli shipping aimed at transferring weapons and goods and hence the Zionist regime could not utilize much of its naval power to carry out attacks against Egypt through the Red Sea; this had a great impact on military operations carried out in Sinai Front. Trading and tourism in major cities such as Jeddah and Yanbu (Saudi Arabia) along with dozens of other coastal cities in the Red Sea are largely dependent on establishing security and tranquility in the Bab al-Mandeb strait. That is why the United States and Israel want to make sure that they could control Bab al-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. Bab al-Mandeb strait is an important strategic chokepoint for international maritime trade and energy shipments. It is just as important as the Suez Canal for the maritime shipping lanes and trade between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Moreover, Houthis and Ansarullah gaining success are of great concern to Israel and the United States because control of Yemen by the Houthis could cut off Israel’s access to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea and prevent its submarines from easily deploying to the Persian Gulf to threaten Iran. This is why control of Yemen was actually one of Netanyahu’s talking points on Capitol Hill when he spoke to the United States Congress about Iran on March 3, 2015. On the other hand, Saudi Arabia was visibly afraid that Yemen could become formally align with Iran and that the events there could result in new rebellions in the Arabian Peninsula against the House of Saud. Preventing Iran, Russia, or China from having a strategic foothold in Yemen was a major concern of the United States. In addition, Yemen is of geopolitical importance in terms of the east-west maritime corridor.
Addressing the United States Senate, Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf the commander of the United States Central Command said:
“The Red Sea, along with the Suez Canal in the north and Bab al-Mandeb in the south, is one of the most vital maritime routes, especially for the European and Pacific alliances. Since the area of the responsibility of the USCENTCOM naval forces includes the Rea Sea, therefore maintaining the security of this waterway for open and free shipping should be a key objective.”
The importance and description of the Bab al-Mandeb strait are also stated in the United States Energy Information Administration report released in November 2014:
“The United States Pacific Command or PACOM, the United States CENTCOM, which also deals with the eastern seaboard of Africa, at both operations and policy-making levels, would need to be considered in the framework of the ambitious Indo-Pacific Project.”
The Bab al-Mandeb strait is a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, and it is a strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The strait is located between Yemen, Djibouti, and Eritrea, and it connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
Most exports from the Persian Gulf that transit the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline also pass through Bab al-Mandeb. An estimated 3.8 million b/d of crude oil and refined petroleum products flowed through this waterway in 2013 toward Europe, the United States, and Asia, an increase from 2.9 million b/d in 2011.
The Bab al-Mandeb strait is 18 miles wide at its narrowest point, limiting tanker traffic to two 2-mile-wide channels for inbound and outbound shipments. Closure of this strait could keep tankers originating in the Persian Gulf from reaching the Suez Canal or the SUMED Pipeline, diverting them around the southern tip of Africa, which would add to transit time and cost. In addition, European and North African southbound oil flows could no longer take the most direct route to Asian markets via the Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandeb.
Given the geopolitical position of the Arab monarchies, they enjoy the constant support of foreign powers. The United States Navy base is situated in the Kingdom of Bahrain and is home to United States Fifth Fleet. Therefore, oppressing the protesters by the King of Bahrain has not been much criticized by the United States and the West. Despite this empirical and theoretical analysis, Bahrain and Yemen are seen as exceptions among the Persian Gulf states. These two countries have had a great deal of political instability, riots and popular uprisings and are now faced popular protests.
Findings
In general, the most important political features of the party system of Yemen after the unification took place, as well as one of the important factors that led to the Yemeni people’s revolution and the Yemeni crisis in 2011, are as follows:
A) Difficulties and extensive economic corruption
B) Domestic instability and insecurity
C) Unemployment and food insecurity
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