Abstract:
Despite growing academic interest in the subject, our current understanding of minorities’ issues in the Middle East is far from satisfactory. This thesis sheds light on the principal minority group in Yemen: namely the Zaydi minority, with a special focus on the Houthi tribe (whose members by and large subscribe to the Zaydi sect). It more specifically addresses the Houthi insurrection against the Yemeni state. The relationship between the Yemeni state and the Zaydis/Houthis will be examined in the context of the political, tribal, religious, cultural and economic milieu of Yemen. The conflict’s regional dimension will be also taken into account. The thesis will take the following factors into consideration: Yemen’s fragile political system, the unification of Southern and Northern Yemen in 1990 and the recent emergence of the al-Qaeda threat along with the concomitant mobilization of discontented elements in former Southern Yemen. Finally, the thesis explores the significance of socio-economic grievances as a contributing factor to the current insurgency by a section of the Zaydi population, namely the Houthis.
