The Gulf

Women and Yemen’s Transition: Overcoming Obstacles

As Yemen prepares for the start of its National Dialogue conference, the Rafik Hariri Center and the US Institute of Peace hosted a discussion with former Yemeni Minister of Human Rights Amat Al Alim Alsoswa on January 30 to discuss the role of Yemeni women as the country continues its transition process.

“Boycott” Elections Distill Kuwait’s Divisions

By Kristin Smith Diwan

On December 1 Kuwait held its second parliamentary election in ten months following the court-imposed dissolution of a strongly oppositional parliament last June.  Instead of the usual selection among Kuwait’s liberal nationalist, Islamist, tribal populist, and independent candidates, the choice this time was more stark:  vote or boycott?   In the months since October, when Kuwait’s […]

Roundtable on US Policy in Yemen with Gregory Johnsen

By Jason Harmala

Following the release of his new book The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America’s War in Arabia, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East hosted a roundtable discussion with Gregory Johnsen on December 3, 2012 to discuss US policy in Yemen and recommendations for the Obama administration’s second term. The discussion engaged Yemen experts […]

Yemen’s Democratic Revolution, One Year Later

By Danya Greenfield

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of Yemen’s president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stepping down from power after more than 10 months of protests led by youth activists and joined by a cross-section of opposition groups and ordinary Yemenis throughout the country. Over the past year, Yemen has crawled its way back from the brink of […]

Another Election “Crisis” in Kuwait

By Richard LeBaron

Kuwait has more experience with elections than any other country in the Gulf and more than most countries in the Middle East and North Africa.  Its tiny population of eligible voters (currently around 400,000) has been going to the polls since 1975, and the number of crises involving the ruling al-Sabah family and the 50 […]

Looking Forward in Yemen: Challenges, Opportunities, and the International Community’s Role

By Jason Harmala

In order to examine the challenges and opportunities with Yemen’s much awaited National Dialogue, the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East and the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) sponsored an event on October 25 featuring commentary by Atiaf Alwazir, a prominent youth activist in Yemen; Ibrahim Mothana, a co-founder of the new Watan […]

IntelBrief: Yemen and Somalia: Assessing the Threat

By Bronwyn Bruton

In the tenth in the series of “IntelBriefs” on African security issues being produced by the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center in partnership with the Soufan Group, an international strategic consultancy, Ansari Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton weighs the evidence of and potential for operational cooperation between the various Islamist extremist groups in Yemen […]

Yemen’s Transition: The Way Forward

By Jason Harmala

In a major public event hosted by the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council and the Woodrow Wilson Center, President of Yemen Abdrabo Mansour Hadi provided a stark assessment of Yemen’s political, economic and security conditions and what failure there would mean for the United States and the international community.

Rallying for Yemen in Riyadh

By Danya Greenfield

At the start of a major donor conference for Yemen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 4 and 5, reports indicate half of Yemen’s twenty-five million people are on the verge of starvation, suffering a growing food crisis and lack of access to basic services. Despite the availability of food in the market, rising prices, […]