Yemen Crisis after 2015: The Attitudes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates
Keywords:
conflicts in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, crisis in Yemen, geopolitical analysis
Abstract
In this study, using the descriptive-analytical method, we discuss the main factors in the formation of the Yemen crisis, as well as the attitudes of the two Arab states and of the two neighboring countries, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in the Yemen crisis. It is concluded that this crisis stems not only from the role of local actors, but also from the role of regional and global actors, who played a decisive role in shaping and exacerbating the Yemen crisis. Regional players in the post-2015 crisis include the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which showed contradictory behavior. Saudi Arabia’s targets in its attack on Yemen have a greater military and security dimension. The political and economic objectives of the United Arab Emirates, which is Riyadh’s most important ally in this war, have been at a different level from those of Saudi Arabia. This can be seen in Abu Dubai Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed’s aspirations to expand his country’s influence, to become a major player in the region.
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References
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HEMATI, Morteza; EBRAHIMI, Shahroz. 2018. “The Effects of Saudi Foreign Policy in Yemen on Iran’s Role in the Middle East” In: A Journal of World Politics. Vol.7, No.1, pp.227-251.
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NABEEL, Almodafary. 2012. “The Arab Spring, an analytical study of external influences, Yemen as a model” In: Journal of Kirkuk University Humanity Studies. Vol.7, No.3, pp. 506-521.
NOURMOHAMMADI, Morteza; JOKAR, Mehdi; FARAJI, Mohammad Reza. 2013. “Investigating the Challenges of Government-Nation Building in Yemen” In: Journal of Defense Policy. Vol.21, No. 84, pp. 69-97.
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SHAHGHOLIAN, Reza; JAMALI, Ali. 2017. “Investigating the Impact of the Saudi War in Yemen on the Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran” In: Journal of Defense Policy. Vol.25, No.100, pp.153-193.
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SWIFT, Christopher. 2012. “The Crisis in Yemen: Al-Qaeda, Saleh, and Governmental Instability” In: Foreign Policy Research Institute: The Newsletter of FPRI’s Wachman Center, March 9. Available online. In: https://www.fpri.org/article/2012/03/the-crisis-in-yemen-al-qaeda- saleh-and-governmental-instability/. Date of consulting: 10/07/2020.
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VAN SLOOTEN, Simone. 2019. “The Strategic Alliance of Saudi Arabia and the UAE” In: Kuwait Program at Sciences Po. Available online. In: https://www.sciencespo.fr/kuwait-program/student-activities/ paper-award/#1568825428365-d98668ea-c567. Date of consulting: 11/06/2020.
YILDIRIM, Emre. 2015. Yemen: Conflict in the Middle East, Middle East Conflicts. Ed. Ahmet Emin Dag. In: IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, pp. 220-238. Istanbul, Turkey.
AL DOSARI, Abdullah; GEORGE, Mary. 2020. “Yemen War: An Overview of the Armed Conflict and Role of Belligerents” In: Journal of Politics and Law. Vol.13, No.1, pp. 53-65.
AL-TAHER, Mahmoud. 2017. “What does the UAE want from Yemen and President Hadi?” Available online. In: https://www.noonpost.com/ content/16693. Date of consulting: 13/07/2020.
AMIRI, Suroush. 2019. “Regional and Transatlantic Governments and the Yemeni Geopolitical and Security Crisis with an Emphasis on Iran and Saudi Arabia and Allies” In: Journal of Political Studies of Islamic World. Vol.7, No. 28, pp.115-140.
AMIRI, Suroush; KYANI, Javad. 2017. “Yemeni Origin in the International Geopolitical Crisis” In: Journal of Political Strategy. Vol.1, No. 2, pp 25- 57.
ARABI21. 2021. The Emirates in southern Yemen. Available online. In: https://arabi21.com/story/1006414/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5% D 9 % 8 5 % D 8 % A 7 % D 8 % B 1 % D 8 % A 7 % D 8 % A A -% D 8 % A 8 % D 8 % A C % D 9 % 8 6 % D 9 % 8 8 % D 8 % A 8 -%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B3%D 8%AA%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%BA%D8%A8%D9-%8A -%D 8%A 3 %D9 %85- %D 8%A F%D9 %88%D8%B 1 -% D 9 % 8 5 % D 8 % A F % D 8 % B 1 % D 9 % 8 8 % D 8 % B 3 -%D9%85%D9%84%D9%81 Date of consulting: 12/03/2021.
ARDEMAGNI, Eleonora. 2017. “UAE-Backed Militias Maximize Yemen’s Fragmentation” In: Istituto Affari Internazionali. Available online. In: https://www.iai.it/en/pubblicazioni/uae-backed-militias-maximize- yemens-fragmentation. Date of consulting: 12/03/2020.
ARI, Tayyar. 2012. MIDDLE EAST from past to present: Politics, War and Diplomacy. MKM Press. Bursa, Turkey.
ARRAF, Sari. 2017. “The Armed Conflict in Yemen: A Complicated Mosaic” In: The Geneva Academy: The War Report. Available online. In: http://www. rulac.org/publications/the-armed-conflict-in-yemen-a-complicated- mosaic. Date of consulting: 12/03/2020.
ARSLAN, Ibrahim. 2015. “Yemen: Regional/Global Power Struggle in a Destabilized Country” In: Uskudar University Journal of Social Sciences. Vo1 01, No.1, pp.17-49.
BERGER, LG; DOERING, M; FIKENSCHER, C. 2012. “Yemen and the Middle East Conference-The Challenge of Failing States and Transnational Terrorism” In: Academic Peace Orchestra. Policy Brief. No. 7, pp. 259- 280.
BLUMBERG, Fabian. 2019. “The Yemen War: Actors, Interests, and the Prospects of Negotiations” In: The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung; Regional Programme Gulf States: Policy Repor. Available online. In: https:// www.kas.de/en/web/rpg/detail/-/content/the-yemen-war. Date of consulting: 12/04/2020.
BOUCEK, Christopher. 2010. “War in Saada: From Local Insurrection to National Challenge” In: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Middle East Program, Number 110. Available online. In: https:// carnegieendowment.org/2010/05/05/war-in-saada-from-local- insurrection-to-national-challenge-pub-40731. Date of consulting: 10/04/2020.
BURKE, Edward. 2012. “One Blood and One Destiny’? Yemen’s Relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council” In: Research Paper, Kuwait Programme on Development, Governance and Globalisation in the Gulf States. Available online. In: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/55241/1/Burke_2012.pdf. Date of consulting: 12/05/2020.
BURSA, Ramazan. 2018. “Imam Yahya’s Country, the Future of Yemen” In: International Center for Observation and Strategic Studies (UGSAM). File No: 18. Available online. In: https://ugsam.org/imam-yahyanin- ulkesi-yemenin-gelecegi/. Date of consulting: 15/05/2020.
DEHSHIRI, Mohammadreza; HOSSEINI, Seyed Mohammad. 2017. “Regional Geopolitics and Iranian- Saudi Relationships” In: Quarterly Foreign Relations. Vol.8, No.1, pp.111-143.
DOMAZETI, Riad. 2017. “Yemen Report: A People Seeking Peace in the Rubble of a Collapsed State” In: INSAMER: Research 84. Available online. In: https://insamer.com/tr/yemen-raporu-coken-devletin-enkazinda- barisi-arayan-bir-halk_1717.html. Date of consulting: 15/04/2020.
ELTYAMINIA, Reza; BAGHERI DOLAT ABADI, Ali; NIKFAR, Jaseb. 2017. “Yemen Crisis: ¡Survey of Contexts and Goals of External Intervenes Saudi Arabia and America”! In Journal of Strategic Research of Politics. Vol.5, No.18, pp.171-198.
FEIERSTEIN, Gerald. 2019. “Yemen: The 60-Year War, The Middle East Institute” In: Policy Paper. Available online. In: https://www.mei.edu/ publications/yemen-60-year-war. Date of consulting: 08/05/2020.
FOZI, Yahya. 2012. “Cause of Formation and Nature of Political Movements in Middle East, Case of Study: Political Movement in Yemen” In: Journal of Political Studies of Islamic World. Vol.1, No.1, pp.17-34.
HEMATI, Morteza; EBRAHIMI, Shahroz. 2018. “The Effects of Saudi Foreign Policy in Yemen on Iran’s Role in the Middle East” In: A Journal of World Politics. Vol.7, No.1, pp.227-251.
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP. 2016. “Yemen: Is Peace Possible?” In: Middle East Report N°167. Available online. In: https://www. crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/gulf-and-arabian-peninsula/ yemen/yemen-peace-possible. Date of consulting: 05/05/2020.
KARASIK, Theodore., CAFIERO, Giorgio. 2019. “The Geopolitics of Yemen’s Civil War” In: The Center for Global Policy (CGP), Policy Brief 6. Available online. In: https://cgpolicy.org/briefs/the-geopolitics-of-yemens-civil- war/. Date of consulting: 10/06/2020.
KEKILLI, Emrah. 2019. “The Role of Medhali Salafism in Middle East Politics: Libya, Egypt and Yemen” In: SETA/Analysis. No. 267. Available online. In: https://www.setav.org/analiz-ortadogu-siyasetinde-medhali- selefiligin-rolu-libya-misir-ve-yemen/. Date of consulting: 25/05/2020.
MOKHTARI HASHI, Hossein; SHAMS, Mojtaba. 2017. “Geopolitical Analysis of Yemen Crisis” In: Research Political Geography. Vol.2, No.5, pp.165- 193.
NABEEL, Almodafary. 2012. “The Arab Spring, an analytical study of external influences, Yemen as a model” In: Journal of Kirkuk University Humanity Studies. Vol.7, No.3, pp. 506-521.
NOURMOHAMMADI, Morteza; JOKAR, Mehdi; FARAJI, Mohammad Reza. 2013. “Investigating the Challenges of Government-Nation Building in Yemen” In: Journal of Defense Policy. Vol.21, No. 84, pp. 69-97.
PALIK, Júlia; JALAL, Ibrahim. 2020. “The Yemen War: Addressing Seven Misconceptions” In: Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Mideast Policy Brief. Available online. In: https://www.prio.org/Publications/ Publication/?x=12293. Date of consulting: 20/05/2020.
POPP, Roland. 2015. “War in Yemen: Revolution and Saudi Intervention” In: Zürich: Center for Security Studies (CSS): Analyses in Security Policy, No. 175. Available online. In: https://css.ethz.ch/en/services/digital-library/ publications/publication.html/191300. Date of consulting: 10/06/2020.
RUBIN, Uzi. 2017. “Hezbollah and the Yemeni Missiles” In: Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies” In: Perspectives Paper No. 662. November 29. Available online. In: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/ hezbollah-yemen-missiles/. Date of consulting: 28/05/2020.
SALISBURY, Peter. 2020. “Risk Perception and Appetite in UAE Foreign and National Security Policy, Chatham House” In: The Royal Institute of International Affairs. Available online. In: https://www.chathamhouse. org/publication/risk-in-uae-salisbury. Date of consulting: 05/07/2020.
SARDAR, Hamid; MOUSAVI, Mir Hadi. 2015. “Yemen in the Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia” In: Journal of Foreign Policy. Vol.29, No.1, pp. 75-96.
SHAHGHOLIAN, Reza; JAMALI, Ali. 2017. “Investigating the Impact of the Saudi War in Yemen on the Security of the Islamic Republic of Iran” In: Journal of Defense Policy. Vol.25, No.100, pp.153-193.
SHARP, Jeremy M. 2019. “Yemen: Civil War and Regional Intervention” In. Congressional Research Service, R43960, September. Available online. In: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R43960.pdf. Date of consulting: 15/06/2020.
STEINBERG, Guido. 2020. “Regional Power United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi Is No Longer Saudi Arabia’s Junior Partner” In: German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Berlin, Germany.
STENSLIE, Stig. 2013. “Not too Strong, not too Weak: Saudi Arabia’s Policy Towards Yemen” In: The Norwegian Peace Building Resource Centre. Available online. In: https://css.ethz.ch/en/services/digital-library/ publications/publication.html/162439. Date of consulting: 05/07/2020.
SWIFT, Christopher. 2012. “The Crisis in Yemen: Al-Qaeda, Saleh, and Governmental Instability” In: Foreign Policy Research Institute: The Newsletter of FPRI’s Wachman Center, March 9. Available online. In: https://www.fpri.org/article/2012/03/the-crisis-in-yemen-al-qaeda- saleh-and-governmental-instability/. Date of consulting: 10/07/2020.
SYMPOSIUM REPORT. 2015. «Yemen After the Storm» 25 April 2015, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. Doha, Qatar.
VAN SLOOTEN, Simone. 2019. “The Strategic Alliance of Saudi Arabia and the UAE” In: Kuwait Program at Sciences Po. Available online. In: https://www.sciencespo.fr/kuwait-program/student-activities/ paper-award/#1568825428365-d98668ea-c567. Date of consulting: 11/06/2020.
YILDIRIM, Emre. 2015. Yemen: Conflict in the Middle East, Middle East Conflicts. Ed. Ahmet Emin Dag. In: IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, pp. 220-238. Istanbul, Turkey.
Published
2021-07-16
How to Cite
Seyedi Asl, S., Leylanoğlu, H., Bahremani, A., & Zabardastalamdari, S. (2021). Yemen Crisis after 2015: The Attitudes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Political Questions, 39(69), 717-734. https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.3969.45
Section
Derecho Público
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