Yemen s Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective

Yemen s Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective

Yemen s Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective Patronage and Pluralized Authoritarianism Sarah Phillips

YEMEN S DEMOCRACY EXPERIMENT IN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE Copyright Sarah Phillips, 2008. All rights reserved. S o f t c o v e r r e p r i n t o f t h e h a r d c o v e r 1 s t e d i t i o n 2 0 0 8 1 0. 1 0 5 7 / 9 7 8 0 2 3 0 6 1 6 4 8 6 Small sections of this book were previously published in Sarah Phillips, Evaluating Political Reform in Yemen, Carnegie Papers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Democracy and Rule of Law Project, no. 80, February 2007; and Sarah Phillips, Foreboding about the Future in Yemen, Middle East Report Online, April 3, 2006. Available online at http://www.merip.org/mero/mero040306.html First published in 2008 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States - a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. I S B N 9 7 8-1 - 3 4 9-3 7 5 7 8-3 I S B N 9 7 8-0 - 2 3 0-6 1 6 4 8-6 ( e B o o k ) D O I 1 0. 1 0 5 7 / 9 7 8 0 2 3 0 6 1 6 4 8 6 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Phillips, Sarah, 1977 Yemen s democracy experiment in regional perspective : patronage and pluralized authoritarianism / Sarah Phillips. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-230-60900-7 1. Democracy Yemen (Republic) 2. Yemen (Republic) Politics and government. 3. Islam and politics Yemen (Republic) 4. Opposition (Political science) Yemen (Republic) I. Tajammu al-yamani lil-islah. II. Title. JQ1842.A91P45 2008 320.9533 dc22 2008015083 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Macmillan Publishing Solutions First edition: November 2008 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: Yemen s Experiment with Democracy 1 Pluralized Authoritarianism and the Yemeni Patronage System 3 Soft Power 6 Hard Power 8 Outline of the Book 9 1. Resilience and Reform in the Arab Middle East 13 The Gray Zone 15 Definitions of Democracy 20 Explaining Arab Exceptionalism 23 Authoritarianism and Political Reform in the 33 Arab Middle East: A Genie out of the Bottle or Business as Usual? 2. A Brief History of the Republic of Yemen: 39 Electoral Politics, War, and Political Retraction Preunification History 43 Unification and the Democracy Experiment 47 Formal and Informal Retraction 57 Yemen s Political Economy: Two Steps Forward, 62 Now Where To? 3. Government Institutions 67 The Military and Security Apparatus 68 State Finance 73 Elected Bodies: Local Councils and the Parliament 76 4. Tribalism in a Weak State 89 Tribal Autonomy 97 Reinforcing the Power Status Quo: Co-optation, 103 Coercion, and Fragmentation

vi CONTENTS 5. Nonstate Actors and Political Reform: Civil Society, 113 Activists, and Political Parties Mechanisms of Control 116 Preexisting Divisions within the Opposition 119 Complementarity of the State and Opposition Groups 128 6. Political Islamists and the Islah Party 137 Party Origins and Ties to the GPC 139 Increasing Popular Support 144 Power Centers, Schools of Thought, and Consistency 147 Islah as Opposition 158 Standing Under the Tree and Waiting for the Fruit to Fall 163 Conclusion: Coercion, Managed Pluralism, and Legitimacy 167 Fear of the Alternatives 168 Political Islam 170 Civil Society 172 Notes 175 Bibliography 217 Index 235

Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University for providing me all the resources and support during the preparation of this study and for making coming to work each day so pleasant. I am particularly grateful to my PhD thesis supervisory panel, which comprised Professor Amin Saikal, Dr. Matthew Gray, Dr. Robert Bowker, and Dr. Douglas Sturkey, for all their encouragement, patience, and advice. Their wise comments were crucial to the completion of this project. In Yemen, I must thank the American Institute for Yemeni Studies for all its assistance on the ground and for the fellowship that allowed me to return in 2005. There are so many people in Yemen who generously gave me their time and friendship and helped make writing my dissertation a pleasure. They trusted me with their insights and their stories, and I thank all of them deeply. Very special thanks are due to Abd al-ghani al-iryani, Murad Zafir, Saad al-deen Talib, and Bob Burrowes, who each spent so much time teaching me the intricacies of Yemeni politics. Their passion for Yemen was infectious, and their friendships made the research process a pleasure. Finally, to some (other) great friends Adam, Ali, Anna, Floor, Marc, Nellie, Richard, Rosie, and Tonee and my wonderful family, James, Robin, Jesse, Eliza, and Tamara: thank you.