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Fragmentation and Reintegration?: Yemen’s “Opposition” in the Wake of the Change Revolution
Abstract by Prof. Stacey Philbrick Yadav On Session 061  (Yemen after Saleh)

On Sunday, November 18 at 2:00 pm

2012 Annual Meeting

Abstract
While the recent departure of President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh has cleared the way for a deeper commitment to the GCC-negotiated transitional agreement, by portraying Saleh himself as the primary barrier to reform we risk overlooking the important tensions within the opposition camp that have opened up over the course of the past year. This paper will consider various nodes of political dissent in Yemen, and explore the shifting relationship between formal and informal opposition groups during the “Change Revolution” and into the transitional period. Particular emphasis will be placed on two tensions within the broad opposition camp: the “parallel revolution,” a semi-organized series of labor stoppages and strikes at public sector firms, designed to press for greater anti-corruption regulation, and the “Life March” and “Dignity March,” two momentous demonstrations in which hundreds of thousands of Yemenis walked from the provincial cities of Taiz and Hodeidah to Sana’a, to register their rejection of elements of the GCC process. In general, the paper will assess the degree to which these intra-oppositional critiques put strain on the durability of the Joint Meeting Parties alliance, the official opposition signatories to the transitional agreement. Will the transitional period signal the ultimate fragmentation of an alliance that was already weak, or will alliance leaders take up the challenge of reintegrating diverse constituencies and engaging them in the process of rebuilding?
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Yemen
Sub Area
None