Building a viable state fit for Yemeni people to return

Embracing decentralisation, development, and partnership will help Yemen to a brighter future

Celina Pereira

Proper respect for citizens' rights and especially an end to politically motivated arrests will help encourage the Yemenis the country needs to return home. Broader, federalised power will be key.

Building a viable state fit for Yemeni people to return

Abdul Ghani Al-Iryani

last update on 11 May 2023

Amman: The war in Yemen has resulted in numerous disasters, including the displacement of millions of Yemenis from their homes.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to neighbouring countries and beyond, denying the country the services of a range of skills, from professionals and businessmen to social, political and military leaders.

Their departures created an opportunity for the Houthis to consolidate control over the state and its institutions and impose sectarian dominance over society.

The Houthis also took advantage of the closure of Sana'a airport, which prevented the return of leaders who could have hindered the movement's agenda to build a Zaydi version of a Taliban state.

Today — after tightening its grip over state institutions including the army and subjecting society to its draconian authority — many displaced people have no choice but to settle abroad, or return to a country devoid of constitutional values and civil equality.

Read more: The Yemen test

The Republic of Yemen was established in 1990. Its constitution guaranteed civil equality, the rule of law, and political empowerment through partisan pluralism and elections.

Despite grave abuses committed by the elites, the central authorities more or less upheld these values. However, the abuse of power and rampant corruption put Yemen on the path of economic failure and the disintegration of the state.

Popular uprising and a short-lived transitional phase

There were popular uprisings in 2011 against the abuses and demands for reform. They led to the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the transfer of power, and the beginning of a transitional phase.

This was when the National Dialogue Conference was held which approved sweeping reforms. The most important was a federal system where local communities would be granted the autonomy to manage their own affairs away from the domination of the central government and its corrupt elite.

2013-2014
The National Dialogue Conference is called. All parties join. The final constitutional draft turns Yemen into a federation of balkanized semi-autonomous states. The Ansarallah & Yemeni left objected to the draft document & the balkanization of their country. pic.twitter.com/LVVyZNzBiA
— روني الدنماركي (@Aldanmarki) January 7, 2023

However, sharp divisions thwarted the transitional phase. The Houthis formed an awkward alliance with the former president, took control of the capital, Sana'a, and placed the transitional president and his government under house arrest.

Once in charge, the Houthis quickly showed that they were unwilling to respect even the most basic rights of citizens or the rule of law.

The Houthis gave their officials sweeping powers, which enabled them to imprison people, confiscate property, and violate the rights of citizens without any legal recourse, creating a toxic environment and sparking a wave of flight.

The Houthis gave their officials sweeping powers, which enabled them to imprison people, confiscate property, and violate the rights of citizens without any legal recourse, creating a toxic environment and sparking a wave of flight.

As Saleh al-Sammad, the late head of the Houthi political bureau, put it: "The most junior official in the movement can put any citizen in prison, and the most senior official cannot release that citizen."

Recently, a small number of displaced people have returned, begrudgingly accepting the status quo, but the majority of Yemenis in the diaspora still cannot accept it.

Ending the war will undoubtedly encourage many to return to their homes. But a more comprehensive return will only happen if there are guarantees against state officials wielding arbitrary power and better respect for human rights. These guarantees can only be made within an effective power-sharing system.

Is partnership possible?

The dominance of state institutions by the Houthis makes it challenging to achieve partnerships with anti-Houthi parties in Sana'a. The Republic of Yemen has never been run by official institutions but rather by institutions and networks loyal to the head of state, making power-sharing a challenging option.

In 2011, the presidency was handed over to the transitional government. Still, power was not transferred as the Houthis maintained their grip on key power points, culminating in the killing of their ally, the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Saleh-Houthi partnership during the transitional period put the concentration of power in the hands of the capital's elite carried out by loyalist networks, which is the main reason why this partnership did not last.

To build a state based on the rule of law in Yemen, it is essential to eliminate authoritarianism resulting from a strong central government and adopt a federalist approach. This means power should primarily be entrusted to local governments, with some delegated to the central authority as necessary.

To build a state based on the rule of law in Yemen, it is essential to eliminate authoritarianism and adopt a federalist approach. This means power should primarily be entrusted to local governments, with some delegated to the central authority as necessary.

However, political and administrative decentralisation cannot succeed without financial decentralisation recognised by the constitution. The constitution includes a clause acknowledging the right of local areas run by governors to manage their own budgets if they allocate a certain percentage to the central government.

To retain these rights, governorates need hard power to deter the central authority from attempting to re-centralise power. This can be achieved by each province having its own defensive security force.

Misplaced hoped for a benevolent dictator

However, some Yemeni elites reject federalism, thinking the only effective form of governance is having a strong central authority. They are waiting for a "just dictator" to come to their rescue. This is naïve as most dictators are alike and absolute power begets absolute evil.

These elites should know very well that the absence of controls and checks and balances on the central government contributed to the failure of the state.

Celina Pereira

Furthermore, the lack of a social consciousness rooted in the traditions of the rule of law means constitutional and legal checks on power lack teeth, and are, in effect, no more than decorative.

Centralisation no longer a viable option

After eight years of war and the disintegration of the state, centralisation is no longer a viable option for Yemen. The path to lasting peace requires Yemenis to agree on a power-sharing formula that allows each province to manage its own affairs and control its resources, similar to federal systems.

The path to lasting peace requires Yemenis to agree on a power-sharing formula that allows each province to manage its own affairs and control its resources.

To achieve peace, Yemen must also meet the necessary conditions for economic development. While there is no one recipe for this, countries that have emerged from underdevelopment have typically reduced military and security spending and redirected resources towards investing in education and healthcare for their people.

For Yemenis to return to their homes, the state must regain stability and then develop.

This can only happen by ensuring the rule of law and safeguarding civil rights, and can be achieved by distributing political power at different levels to form positive balances that will underpin stability while preventing the emergence of egotistical leaders who put their own ambitions above the well-being of their people.

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