Middle East Briefs
Parallel to the Center’s scholarly work, Middle East Briefs provides a brief analysis of a single issue at the top of the region’s political, social, or economic agenda. Targeted primarily at decision-makers and opinion leaders, the publication was launched in 2005.
Latest Brief
October 2024 – Consolidation through Crackdown: Understanding Houthi Rule in Yemen
Stacey Philbrick Yadav
Middle East Brief 161 (Summary) — In May 2024, the Houthi movement initiated a crackdown on civil society actors and international organizations, disrupting essential humanitarian efforts. This campaign, which coincided with their attacks on Red Sea shipping and drone and missile strikes against Israel, along with counterstrikes from Israeli and U.S. forces, has received little attention from international media and policymakers. Yet, as Stacey Philbrick Yadav argues in our latest Middle East Brief, this is not simply a continuation of previous repression but an effort to consolidate the Houthis' decade-long rule. By targeting civil actors, the campaign aims to deepen Yemen’s institutional and economic fragmentation and entrench Yemenis' reliance on Houthi governance. Philbrick Yadav concludes these changes will further undermine regional security and worsen conditions for millions of Yemeni civilians.
Stacey Philbrick Yadav is professor and chair of the International Relations department at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She is a nonresident fellow of the Crown Center.