Long held interest in South Yemen from time as a diplomat in Aden, then capital of the PDRY. Author of Yemen Divided ( about the PDRY), Co-editor of Rebuilding Yemen and editor of Hadhramaut and its Diaspora. Former President British Society of Middle East Studies and former Chair British-Yemeni Society.
This article looks at the prospects for peace in Yemen. It offers a comprehensive overview of the... more This article looks at the prospects for peace in Yemen. It offers a comprehensive overview of the current situation, including the strength of the Huthis, the interests involvement of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and western powers, the individual situation of the various regions and provinces of Yemen, its economy, the question of terrorist presences in the country, and the attempts made to reach a settlement between all sides. The article argues that at present the prospects for a peaceful cessation of the conflict are poor and that it is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
This chapter analyzes the UAE’s aims in Yemen in the light of its relationships with major allies... more This chapter analyzes the UAE’s aims in Yemen in the light of its relationships with major allies, drawing on conversations with British, US, Saudi, and UAE contacts. The UAE was an active participant in the transition following the 2011 uprising and brought its military skills, experience, and ability to improvise to the Saudi-led coalition to prevent Yemen coming under Houthi control and Iranian influence and to stop al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) from acquiring a safe haven. Its main focus was on the south, where it developed local security forces to provide security but lacked confidence in President Hadi and refused to work with Islah party leaders. In 2018, it took a leading role in plans to attack the Red Sea port of al-Hodeida, but in 2019 withdrew from the war in the north. Throughout, the UAE has worked closely with Saudi Arabia and its Western allies, whose objectives were not always identical, causing the UAE to make difficult choices. Despite the UAE’s militar...
With a long history of involvement in Yemen, Britain played a leading role in managing the post-2... more With a long history of involvement in Yemen, Britain played a leading role in managing the post-2011 transition, using its diplomatic skills to coordinate the actions of G-10 ambassadors, the UN Special Envoy, President Hadi’s regime, and participants in the National Dialogue Conference. Throughout the process the UK remained concerned about the threat posed by al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula and the capacity of local security services to fight it. London realized that the Houthis should have been given a more central role in the transition but, like other G-10 states, it woke up too late to the threat they posed. While the UK supported the Saudi-led coalition politically, diplomatically, and militarily in March 2015, it became alarmed at growing public concern about the conduct of the war. In response it gave the strongest support to the peace process, led from 2018 by a UN envoy from Britain, and has been a leading provider of humanitarian assistance.
Fifty years after the British departure the future of South Arabia or South Yemen is just as unce... more Fifty years after the British departure the future of South Arabia or South Yemen is just as uncertain as it was on 30 November 1967, when the People's Republic of South Yemen (PRSY) came into existence. The old order was swept away in the revolutionary tide of the mid- 20th century to be replaced by a Marxist state. Yet, within less than 23 years the new order was undermined by unresolved issues inherited from South Arabia and led to an ill-prepared union with the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) in 1990. Today, after over two and half years of war, Yemen is fragmenting and one outcome might be the return of a southern state which will have to confront the same unresolved issues. Are southerners Yemenis or South Yemenis? Can institutions be created to overcome tribal and regional differences with the South? Can a viable economy be created in a country with so few natural resources? This article provides a history of the region and the conflicts of the last 50 years, along with a consi...
In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants wh... more In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants who sailed to the southern Arabian Peninsula from the east and the west, seeking and offering a range of commodities, both luxury and mundane. In Shipped but Not Sold, Nancy Um opens the chests these merchants transported to and from Yemen and examines the cargo holds of their boats to reveal the goods held within. They included eastern spices and aromatics, porcelain cups and saucers with decorations in gold from Asia, bales of coffee grown in the mountains of Yemen, Arabian horses, and a wide variety of cotton, silk, velvet, and woolen cloth from India, China, Persia, and Europe; in addition to ordinary provisions, such as food, beer, medicine, furniture, pens, paper, and wax candles. As featured in the copious records of the Dutch and English East India Companies, as well as in travel accounts and local records in Arabic, these varied goods were not just commodities intended for sale in the marketplace. Horses and textile banners were mobilized and displayed in the highly visible ceremonies staged at the Red Sea port of Mocha when new arrivals appeared from overseas at the beginning of each trade season. Coffee and aromatics were served and offered in imported porcelain and silver wares during negotiations that took place in the houses of merchants and officials. Major traders bestowed sacks of spices and lavish imported textiles as gifts to provincial governors and Yemen’s imam in order to sustain their considerable trading privileges. European merchants who longed for the distant comforts of home carried tables and chairs, along with abundant supplies of wine and spirits for their own use and, in some cases, further distribution in Yemen’s ports and emporia. These diverse items were offered, displayed, exchanged, consumed, or utilized by major international merchants and local trade officials in a number of socially exclusive practices that affirmed their identity, status, and commercial obligations, but also sustained the livelihood of their business ventures. Shipped but Not Sold posits a key role for these socially significant material objects (many of which were dispatched across oceans but not intended only for sale on the open market) as important signs, tools, and attributes in the vibrant world of a rapidly transforming Indian Ocean trading society. http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9742-9780824866402.aspx
ABSTRACT The National Liberation Front (NLF), set up in 1963, took over South Arabia in 1967 to f... more ABSTRACT The National Liberation Front (NLF), set up in 1963, took over South Arabia in 1967 to form the People's Republic of South Yemen (renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen – PDRY -- in 1971). I ask how the NLF achieved its goal in such a short period of time, ending the 129-year British presence in South Arabia. The NLF's focus on the armed struggle was the crucial factor but it could not have succeeded without the support of Egypt and a friendly regime in Sanaa, and taking advantage of a growing unwillingness in London to pay the financial and human costs of staying. The NLF understood that the hinterland, long seen as protecting Aden, offered the best route for attacking it. While the final battle would have to be in Aden, the war should start in the protectorates. Violence was accompanied by political work to build an organization to mobilize popular support and defeat rival nationalist organizations.
I would like to thank Carole Hillenbrand and Yasir Sulaiman for making this occasion possible. BR... more I would like to thank Carole Hillenbrand and Yasir Sulaiman for making this occasion possible. BRISMES exists to support and encourage the study of the Middle East from antiquity to the present day across all disciplines. It does so though the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, its annual 3-day conference (we held a highly successful one here in Edinburgh last year), an annual lecture and other activities. BRISMES is particularly proud to be involved with the British Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize, which awards £10,000 to the best scholarly book published on the Middle East each year. We are currently campaigning to bring to the government's attention what we see as an impending crisis in Middle East and Islamic studies, brought on by the retirement in the next few years of many leading experts and the funding difficulties that make recruitment for language studies difficult. I am delighted that we are having some success.
... Ba'um, Rashid al-Kaff, Mohsen Alaini, Abd al-Jal... more ... Ba'um, Rashid al-Kaff, Mohsen Alaini, Abd al-Jalil Gailani, Shaf'al Umar, Abd al-Aziz al-Quaiti, Lutfi Shatara, Khalid Yamani, Matahir Mus ... and the Eastern Aden Protectorate, with perhaps 350,000, of which 230,000 were in the al-Qu'ayti and 66,000 in the al-Kathiri sultan-ates.6 ...
In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants wh... more In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants who sailed to the southern Arabian Peninsula from the east and the west, seeking and offering a range of commodities, both luxury and mundane. In Shipped but Not Sold, Nancy Um opens the chests these merchants transported to and from Yemen and examines the cargo holds of their boats to reveal the goods held within. They included eastern spices and aromatics, porcelain cups and saucers with decorations in gold from Asia, bales of coffee grown in the mountains of Yemen, Arabian horses, and a wide variety of cotton, silk, velvet, and woolen cloth from India, China, Persia, and Europe; in addition to ordinary provisions, such as food, beer, medicine, furniture, pens, paper, and wax candles. As featured in the copious records of the Dutch and English East India Companies, as well as in travel accounts and local records in Arabic, these varied goods were not just commodities intended for sale in...
This article looks at the prospects for peace in Yemen. It offers a comprehensive overview of the... more This article looks at the prospects for peace in Yemen. It offers a comprehensive overview of the current situation, including the strength of the Huthis, the interests involvement of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and western powers, the individual situation of the various regions and provinces of Yemen, its economy, the question of terrorist presences in the country, and the attempts made to reach a settlement between all sides. The article argues that at present the prospects for a peaceful cessation of the conflict are poor and that it is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
This chapter analyzes the UAE’s aims in Yemen in the light of its relationships with major allies... more This chapter analyzes the UAE’s aims in Yemen in the light of its relationships with major allies, drawing on conversations with British, US, Saudi, and UAE contacts. The UAE was an active participant in the transition following the 2011 uprising and brought its military skills, experience, and ability to improvise to the Saudi-led coalition to prevent Yemen coming under Houthi control and Iranian influence and to stop al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) from acquiring a safe haven. Its main focus was on the south, where it developed local security forces to provide security but lacked confidence in President Hadi and refused to work with Islah party leaders. In 2018, it took a leading role in plans to attack the Red Sea port of al-Hodeida, but in 2019 withdrew from the war in the north. Throughout, the UAE has worked closely with Saudi Arabia and its Western allies, whose objectives were not always identical, causing the UAE to make difficult choices. Despite the UAE’s militar...
With a long history of involvement in Yemen, Britain played a leading role in managing the post-2... more With a long history of involvement in Yemen, Britain played a leading role in managing the post-2011 transition, using its diplomatic skills to coordinate the actions of G-10 ambassadors, the UN Special Envoy, President Hadi’s regime, and participants in the National Dialogue Conference. Throughout the process the UK remained concerned about the threat posed by al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula and the capacity of local security services to fight it. London realized that the Houthis should have been given a more central role in the transition but, like other G-10 states, it woke up too late to the threat they posed. While the UK supported the Saudi-led coalition politically, diplomatically, and militarily in March 2015, it became alarmed at growing public concern about the conduct of the war. In response it gave the strongest support to the peace process, led from 2018 by a UN envoy from Britain, and has been a leading provider of humanitarian assistance.
Fifty years after the British departure the future of South Arabia or South Yemen is just as unce... more Fifty years after the British departure the future of South Arabia or South Yemen is just as uncertain as it was on 30 November 1967, when the People's Republic of South Yemen (PRSY) came into existence. The old order was swept away in the revolutionary tide of the mid- 20th century to be replaced by a Marxist state. Yet, within less than 23 years the new order was undermined by unresolved issues inherited from South Arabia and led to an ill-prepared union with the Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) in 1990. Today, after over two and half years of war, Yemen is fragmenting and one outcome might be the return of a southern state which will have to confront the same unresolved issues. Are southerners Yemenis or South Yemenis? Can institutions be created to overcome tribal and regional differences with the South? Can a viable economy be created in a country with so few natural resources? This article provides a history of the region and the conflicts of the last 50 years, along with a consi...
In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants wh... more In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants who sailed to the southern Arabian Peninsula from the east and the west, seeking and offering a range of commodities, both luxury and mundane. In Shipped but Not Sold, Nancy Um opens the chests these merchants transported to and from Yemen and examines the cargo holds of their boats to reveal the goods held within. They included eastern spices and aromatics, porcelain cups and saucers with decorations in gold from Asia, bales of coffee grown in the mountains of Yemen, Arabian horses, and a wide variety of cotton, silk, velvet, and woolen cloth from India, China, Persia, and Europe; in addition to ordinary provisions, such as food, beer, medicine, furniture, pens, paper, and wax candles. As featured in the copious records of the Dutch and English East India Companies, as well as in travel accounts and local records in Arabic, these varied goods were not just commodities intended for sale in the marketplace. Horses and textile banners were mobilized and displayed in the highly visible ceremonies staged at the Red Sea port of Mocha when new arrivals appeared from overseas at the beginning of each trade season. Coffee and aromatics were served and offered in imported porcelain and silver wares during negotiations that took place in the houses of merchants and officials. Major traders bestowed sacks of spices and lavish imported textiles as gifts to provincial governors and Yemen’s imam in order to sustain their considerable trading privileges. European merchants who longed for the distant comforts of home carried tables and chairs, along with abundant supplies of wine and spirits for their own use and, in some cases, further distribution in Yemen’s ports and emporia. These diverse items were offered, displayed, exchanged, consumed, or utilized by major international merchants and local trade officials in a number of socially exclusive practices that affirmed their identity, status, and commercial obligations, but also sustained the livelihood of their business ventures. Shipped but Not Sold posits a key role for these socially significant material objects (many of which were dispatched across oceans but not intended only for sale on the open market) as important signs, tools, and attributes in the vibrant world of a rapidly transforming Indian Ocean trading society. http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9742-9780824866402.aspx
ABSTRACT The National Liberation Front (NLF), set up in 1963, took over South Arabia in 1967 to f... more ABSTRACT The National Liberation Front (NLF), set up in 1963, took over South Arabia in 1967 to form the People's Republic of South Yemen (renamed the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen – PDRY -- in 1971). I ask how the NLF achieved its goal in such a short period of time, ending the 129-year British presence in South Arabia. The NLF's focus on the armed struggle was the crucial factor but it could not have succeeded without the support of Egypt and a friendly regime in Sanaa, and taking advantage of a growing unwillingness in London to pay the financial and human costs of staying. The NLF understood that the hinterland, long seen as protecting Aden, offered the best route for attacking it. While the final battle would have to be in Aden, the war should start in the protectorates. Violence was accompanied by political work to build an organization to mobilize popular support and defeat rival nationalist organizations.
I would like to thank Carole Hillenbrand and Yasir Sulaiman for making this occasion possible. BR... more I would like to thank Carole Hillenbrand and Yasir Sulaiman for making this occasion possible. BRISMES exists to support and encourage the study of the Middle East from antiquity to the present day across all disciplines. It does so though the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, its annual 3-day conference (we held a highly successful one here in Edinburgh last year), an annual lecture and other activities. BRISMES is particularly proud to be involved with the British Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize, which awards £10,000 to the best scholarly book published on the Middle East each year. We are currently campaigning to bring to the government's attention what we see as an impending crisis in Middle East and Islamic studies, brought on by the retirement in the next few years of many leading experts and the funding difficulties that make recruitment for language studies difficult. I am delighted that we are having some success.
... Ba'um, Rashid al-Kaff, Mohsen Alaini, Abd al-Jal... more ... Ba'um, Rashid al-Kaff, Mohsen Alaini, Abd al-Jalil Gailani, Shaf'al Umar, Abd al-Aziz al-Quaiti, Lutfi Shatara, Khalid Yamani, Matahir Mus ... and the Eastern Aden Protectorate, with perhaps 350,000, of which 230,000 were in the al-Qu'ayti and 66,000 in the al-Kathiri sultan-ates.6 ...
In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants wh... more In the early decades of the eighteenth century, Yemen hosted a bustling community of merchants who sailed to the southern Arabian Peninsula from the east and the west, seeking and offering a range of commodities, both luxury and mundane. In Shipped but Not Sold, Nancy Um opens the chests these merchants transported to and from Yemen and examines the cargo holds of their boats to reveal the goods held within. They included eastern spices and aromatics, porcelain cups and saucers with decorations in gold from Asia, bales of coffee grown in the mountains of Yemen, Arabian horses, and a wide variety of cotton, silk, velvet, and woolen cloth from India, China, Persia, and Europe; in addition to ordinary provisions, such as food, beer, medicine, furniture, pens, paper, and wax candles. As featured in the copious records of the Dutch and English East India Companies, as well as in travel accounts and local records in Arabic, these varied goods were not just commodities intended for sale in...
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