Beyond Proxy War: Local Actors and The Transformation of Sovereignty in Yemen
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66871/trf-j.v1i3.006Keywords:
Sovereignty, Fragmentation, Houthis, Legitimacy, Civil WarAbstract
The conflict in Yemen has fundamentally reshaped the meaning and practice of sovereignty through the increased role of non-state actors. A plethora of existing scholarship frames the Yemen conflict as a proxy war dominated by the Houthis and the Saudi-supported coalition. But this perspective underscores the critical role played by other non-state actors, particularly the Southern Transition Council (STC), tribal networks and localised militias. This paper argues that sovereignty in Yemen has become fragmented and spatially differentiated, and the state no longer enjoys a monopoly over legitimate authority. The paper draws its theoretical framework from Max Weber and Charles Tilly and conceptualises sovereignty not as a rigid attribute of the state but as an evolving and contesting process influenced by conflict dynamics. Methodologically, the paper employs a qualitative approach and relies on secondary data sources. It analyses how the non-state actors in Yemen perform core state functions, including security, territorial control, and dispute settlement. For instance, the STC functions as a proto-state authority in Yemen, while the militias exercise localised authority that challenges the centralised state apparatus. The paper also demonstrates that this fragmented authority creates a hybrid system of governance with overlapping jurisdiction and competing claims to legitimacy. This power configuration intensifies peace-making efforts, as multiple actors reduce the possibility of a consolidated political settlement. Therefore, the Yemen conflict highlights the lack of a state-centric framework in understanding intra-state conflicts and calls for a reconceptualisation of sovereignty that explains the growing importance of non-state actors in conflict-affected states
References
1. Al-Dawsari, N. (2012). Tribal governance and stability in Yemen (Vol. 24). Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
2. Arjona, A. (2016). Rebelocracy: Social Order in the Colombian Civil War. Cambridge University Press.
3. Arjona, A., Kasfir, N., & Mampilly, Z. C. (2015). Rebel governance in civil war. Cambridge University Press.
4. Boege, V., Brown, A., Clements, K., & Nolan, A. (2008). On hybrid political orders and emerging States: State Formation in the context of ‘Fragility.’ George Mason University. https://doi.org/10.13021/mars/8384
5. Brandt, M. (2017). Tribes and politics in Yemen. In Oxford University Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190673598.001.0001
6. Clausen, M. (2019). Justifying military intervention: Yemen as a failed state. Third World Quarterly, 40(3), 488–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2019.1573141
7. Clausen, M. (2017). Islamic State in Yemen – a rival to Al-Qaeda? Connections the Quarterly Journal, 16(1), 51–63. https://doi.org/10.11610/connections.16.1.04
8. Darwich, M. (2019). Threats and alliances in the Middle East: Saudi and Syrian Policies in a Turbulent Region. Cambridge University Press.
Day, S. W. (2012). Regionalism and rebellion in Yemen. In Cambridge University Press eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139135443
9. Dureab, F., Al-Awlaqi, S., & Jahn, A. (2020). COVID-19 in Yemen: preparedness measures in a fragile state. The Lancet Public Health, 5(6), e311. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(20)30101-8
10. Clark, J. A. (2013). Regionalism and Rebellion in Yemen: A Troubled National Union. By Stephen W. Day. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 368p. $99.00 cloth, $29.99 paper. Perspectives on Politics, 11(3), 971–972. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1537592713001813
11. Florea, A. (2020). Rebel governance in de facto states. European Journal of International Relations, 26(4), 1004–1031. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066120919481
12. Forster, R. (2017). The Southern Transitional Council: Implications for Yemen’s peace process. Middle East Policy, 24(3), 133–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/mepo.12295
13. Alosaimi, K., Sullivan, G. B., Morrison, C., & Day, C. (2026). How can Community-Driven reconstruction in Peace-Transitioning societies address sources of Division? A Grounded theory of reconstruction activities in Yemen. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/15423166261420662
14. Hagmann, T., & Hoehne, M.V. (2009). Failures of the state failure debate: Evidence from the Somali territories. Journal of International Development, 21, 42-57.
15. Heinze, M. (2018). Yemen and the search for stability: Power, Politics and Society After the Arab Spring. I.B. Tauris.
16. Hoffmann, K.; Kirk, T. Public Authority and the Provision of Public Goods in Conflict-Affected and Transitioning Regions. Justice and Security Research Programme, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), London, UK (2013) 60 pp. [JSRP Research Paper 7
17. Juneau, T. (2016). Iran’s policy towards the Houthis in Yemen: a limited return on a modest investment. International Affairs, 92(3), 647–663. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12599
18. Kaldor, M. (2012). New and Old Wars: Organised Violence in a Global Era (3rd ed.). Stanford University Press.
19. Kalyvas, S. N. (2006). The logic of violence in civil war. Cambridge University Press.
20. Ardemagni, E. (2020). Yemen’s Defence Structure: Hybridity and Patronage after the State. Journal of Arabian Studies, 10(1), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/21534764.2020.1791308
21. Holsti, K. J. (2000). Stephen D. Krasner, Sovereignty: Organised Hypocrisy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999. Japanese Journal of Political Science, 1(1), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1468109900210189
22. Lackner, H. (2019). Yemen in crisis: Road to War. Verso Books.
23. Lynch, M., Schwedler, J., & Yom, S. L. (2022). The political science of the Middle East: Theory and Research Since the Arab Uprisings. Oxford University Press.
24. Mac Ginty, R. (2021). Everyday peace: How So-called Ordinary People Can Disrupt Violent Conflict. Oxford University Press.
25. Malejacq, R. (2019). Warlord Survival: The Delusion of State Building in Afghanistan.
26. Mampilly, Z. C. (2011). Rebel rulers: Insurgent Governance and Civilian Life during War. Cornell University Press.
27. Meininghaus, E. (2016). Humanitarianism in intra-state conflict: aid inequality and local governance in government- and opposition-controlled areas in the Syrian war. Third World Quarterly, 37(8), 1454–1482. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2016.1159509
28. Migdal, J. S. (2001). State in society: Studying How States and Societies Transform and Constitute One Another. Cambridge University Press.
29. Palik, Júlia; Siri Aas Rustad; Kristian Berg Harpviken & Fredrik Methi (2020) Conflict Trends in the Middle East, 1989–2019. PRIO Paper. Oslo: PRIO.
30. Phillips, S. (2011). Yemen and the politics of permanent crisis. Routledge.
31. Phillips, S. (2020). When There was No Aid: War and Peace in Somaliland.
32. Salisbury, P. (2015). Yemen and the Saudi-Iranian 'Cold War'.
33. Staniland, P. (2012). Organising Insurgency: networks, resources, and rebellion in South Asia. International Security, 37(1), 142–177. https://doi.org/10.1162/isec_a_00091
34. Rogers, J. (2020) Changing Local Governance in Yemen: District and governorate institutions in the areas under Ansar Allah’s control. Berghof Working Paper 12/2020. Berghof Foundation, Berlin
35. Tilly, C. (1990). Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990.
36. Weber, M. (1958). Politics as a Vocation. From Max Weber. HH Gerth and CW Mills.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Research Frontline - Journal
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
