Yemen is arguably not a single war as much as it is a mosaic of interlinked conflicts. Just as the conflict defies easy descriptions, so do its actors. Yemen’s conflict has its own internal logic. The frequent framings of Yemen as a proxy war may reflect the increasing role of external actors, but they often obscure as much as they elucidate. That said, the role of foreign actors—and its intersection with local Yemeni groups—is crucial for understanding the wider conflict.
The Proxy Wars Project (PWP) aims to develop new insights for resolving the wars that beset the Arab world. While the conflicts in Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Iraq have internal roots, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others have all provided military and economic support to various belligerents. PWP Conflict Studies are papers written by recognized area experts that are designed to elucidate the complex relationship between internal proxies and external sponsors. PWP is jointly directed by Ariel Ahram (Virginia Tech) and Ranj Alaaldin (Brookings Doha Center) and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Yemen is arguably not a single war as much as it is a mosaic of interlinked conflicts. Just as the conflict defies easy descriptions, so do its actors. Yemen’s conflict has its own internal logic. The frequent framings of Yemen as a proxy war may reflect the increasing role of external actors, but they often obscure as much as they elucidate. That said, the role of foreign actors—and its intersection with local Yemeni groups—is crucial for understanding the wider conflict.
The Proxy Wars Project (PWP) aims to develop new insights for resolving the wars that beset the Arab world. While the conflicts in Yemen, Libya, Syria, and Iraq have internal roots, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and others have all provided military and economic support to various belligerents. PWP Conflict Studies are papers written by recognized area experts that are designed to elucidate the complex relationship between internal proxies and external sponsors. PWP is jointly directed by Ariel Ahram (Virginia Tech) and Ranj Alaaldin (Brookings Doha Center) and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.