With the world’s eye squarely focused on Iraq, much less attention is being paid to the challenges – and opportunities – for democratic and market reform elsewhere in the Middle East. Yemen, for instance, has recently come into the media focus because of an attempted Al-Qaida attack against the U.S. embassy that injured 13 students leaving a nearby school. But the domestic context of this attack remains poorly understood.
Yemen has an important choice to make. If the entrenched disfunctionalities in its political and economic systems persist, it will be headed toward anarchy or even a failed state. But if reforms continue, it may well become a regional example of progress in building democratic and market institutions.
Yemen is facing significant internal security problems underscored by the recent attack. After the unification in 1990, secessionist movements in the formerly communist South culminated in a brief 1994 civil war. The Northern military won, but left the South with simmering grievances over what they perceive as an occupation fraught with land grabs and other abuses. Another troubled area is the northern province of Saada where the government troops are ineffectively battling a Shia group that had been insignificant until this confrontation started. Finally, stability is being undermined by the growing threat of militant radicals, many of whom are Al-Qaida fighters. Since the 1970s, they have largely been co-opted by the government and kept a low profile inside of Yemen. However, the mounting international pressure to crack down on terrorists has led to on-again, off-again skirmishes with the government and threatens violent confrontation.
Yet if security problems can be addressed not just through military, but political and economic means that would provide better governance and give all Yemenis a stake in building a prosperous country, significant reforms are possible. As a part of the 1990 unification process, Yemen established a pluralistic multi-party system. But the civil war destroyed many of those democratic institutions that are only now being slowly rebuilt after a period of de facto one-party rule of the victorious North’s General Peoples’ Congress. In 2006, Yemen saw the most contested presidential elections in the Arab world, and even though the incumbent Ali Abdullah Saleh won, the spirited electoral campaign stirred public debates about corruption and the need for economic reforms.
Disappointingly, most Yemenis are disenfranchised and feel that President Saleh’s regime is more invested in creating a family dynasty than addressing the country’s pressing problems: profound poverty, unsustainable dependence on depleting oil reserves, high unemployment among the youths, and nearly 75 percent female illiteracy. But Yemenis are calling for change. They repeat “Shab’in,” or “Fed Up,” after a local comedian who captured popular frustrations. They want to curb corruption in politics and their daily lives. They want to establish a modern stock exchange to attract investment.
All those improvements in turn require more transparent information flows and clear rules of corporate governance, especially in state-owned enterprises and family-owned firms that constitute the majority of businesses in Yemen. CIPE is working with Yemeni reformers to bring about locally driven change. The Yemen Female Media Forum holds workshops and training seminars to equip local journalists with the skills they need to provide accurate and reliable information. The Yemen Polling Center, the first such center in the country, contributes to building a free, open, and democratic society. Its polls address vital issues such as bribery and obstacles to doing business. The Yemeni Businessmen Club brings together young, successful business people to advocate for greater economic reform and freedom and leads private sector efforts to effect positive change in corporate governance of Yemeni businesses.
The challenges that Yemen faces are indeed daunting. But tremendous opportunity for reform is also there. Giving up on democratic and economic reforms in Yemen would result in anarchy and further destabilize the region. The Yemenis are open to change and eager to see their lives improve. The Yemenis are open to change and eager to see their lives improve and the international community should continue to support their grassroots efforts. Now President Saleh’s regime must also realize that reform is not a luxury any more – it is very much an urgent matter of the country’s survival.
Published Date: March 28, 2008