How the Arab Spring destroyed the concept of the state and stability in Yemen

The Arab world has been witnessing a storm of events since the end of 2010 and the revolutions of the so-called Arab Spring. Arab countries witnessed revolutions, uprisings and popular protests that overthrew a number of leaders, starting in Tunisia, passing to Egypt, and then on to several other countries, such as Libya, Yemen and Syria.

These events have become controversial, being studied and researched by researchers specializing in various related fields. These popular movements have influenced various aspects of life within the Arab countries, whether on the political or economic side, and at the heart of which is the social aspect.

This idea was the subject of a study in a doctoral thesis titled "The Arab Spring and Its Impact on Political Stability in Yemen (2010-2015)", prepared by researcher Mohammed Abdullah Al-Horash at the Graduate School of the World Islamic Science & Education University (WISE) in Jordan.

Purpose of the study

This study aimed to identify the nature of the relationship between the events of the Arab Spring and political stability in Yemen, as well as the impact and role played by the Yemeni revolution in the political life of the country.

The researcher adopted a number of scientific methods to understand the impact of events on Yemen’s political stability, dividing it into four sections: the Arab Spring revolutions in the region, the social and political structure in Yemen, Yemen’s February 2011 revolution and the subsequent transition period, and ending with the events of September 21, 2014 and Yemen’s ensuing political crisis.

The researcher highlighted the nature of the existing confusion within Yemeni society about the events and demonstrations that emerged after February 2011, where the society divided into two parts. The first part believes that Yemen’s political parties worked to exploit the youth to put pressure on Ali Abdullah Saleh's regime and try to make political gains, regardless of the nature of the states sponsoring these events.

The second part believes that the Yemeni revolution was not influenced by external forces, but came out of the popular will due to the poor political and economic management of the former Yemeni president, as well as the dominance of a few prominent figures in the ruling party over the resources of the Yemeni state and people.

The researcher also presented a comprehensive report on the various events in Yemen, beginning a few months before the revolution, through to the outbreak of demonstrations and the Gulf initiatives to resolve the crisis, until the president transferred his powers to then-Vice President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and the country’s armed forces were restructured.

Houthis: price of the constitutional vacuum

The researcher tried to discover a relationship between the events of September 21, 2014, in which the Houthis made a coup against constitutional legitimacy in Yemen, and the arrival of the constitutional vacuum and Yemen entering into the current political crisis.

The Houthis attempted to exploit the situation in the country to enter into conflict with some other forces in order to tighten control on the Yemeni provinces. The researcher also worked to expose violations by the Houthi forces, such as relocating some civilians from their homes in Jabra in order to achieve their expansionist objectives.

The researcher then presented what he considered to be the advantages of the Arab Spring, represented by the existence of several important characteristics for these movements, such as being led by middle-class youth with higher education degrees, and he also showed the disadvantages of these movements, such as threatening the existence of the state in its coherent institutional image, which led threatening the state’s sovereignty of its territory.

The study reached several conclusions, including that the Arab Spring revolutions, especially Yemen’s February 11 revolution, contributed to highlighting the real threats to the Yemeni state and the cohesion of its national institutions, as well as the failure of the transitional period following the Yemeni revolution.

The study also found that the Houthi group was the main beneficiary of the Yemeni revolution. It worked to obtain power by armed force and by entering into military confrontations with various political and tribal forces in Yemen. This has led the country into ongoing civil wars and conflicts that have taken place in most of its cities.

The researcher made several recommendations, including the necessity of drafting a Yemeni social charter based on the principle of a modern civil state and the foundations of democracy, in addition to the necessity of guaranteeing the dignity and rights of Yemeni citizens.