Nadwa al-Dawsari has produced an excellent
report on the tribal system for the Carnegie
Endowment, Tribal Governance and Stability in Yemen*.
She shows how, in the absence of an effective state, tribes look after their own
affairs and how when the government moved out of parts of Yemen in 2011 tribes
co-operated to cope. They also have acted as mediators to prevent disputes
escalating in areas contested by Al-Huthi and Islah-backed
tribes. She also throws new light on how tribal actors, not the armed forces,
prevented militants from Ansar al-Shariah seizing large parts
of Rada'a earlier this year and then negotiated a settlement. It appears that
Tariq al-Dhabi, the leader, lost his life when he lost the
protection of the tribes after he breached the agreement.
The Saleh system developed over 33 years was based on co-opting
local leaders – usually tribal – and providing them in exchange for support and
loyalty with access to government resources, whether in the form, of cash, jobs,
contracts or favours. Many tribal leaders received direct subsidies. It was all
fed by oil income, at least until recently. Al-Dawsari describes how some tribal
leaders, brought into the patronage system, have moved to Sana'a to play in
national politics and business but cut themselves off from tribal roots,
undermining their standing – and, when the money runs out, their influence. The
2012 budget allocated YR13 billion for payments to tribal shaikhs – although the
prime minister says the figure will be cut drastically.
There havem been demonstrations calling for an end to these
payments. He may find this difficult to implement. Al-Dawsari's conclusion is
addressed to the international community. “Evidence about the role performed by
tribes in Yemen challenges two major assumptions: that Yemen is a lawless
country and that tribes and the tribal system undermine stability and state
building. On the contrary, in a country like Yemen, where the state is weak, the
tribal system — especially tribal conflict resolution mechanisms — can help
promote national reconciliation, stability, and even state building. As the
United Nations and the international community try to help Yemen in its critical
transition and state-building process, policymakers and practitioners need to
explore ways in which the traditional system can complement and strengthen this
process.”
What she does not discuss is how the patronage system will
evolve under President Abd al-Rab Mansour Hadi
and perhaps eventually a more democratic regime. For the moment, the
state subsidies will continue to flow, as will those from Saudi Arabia as well
as people such as Sadiq and Hamid al-Ahmar,
who have their own sources and networks of patronage.
For more news and expert analysis about Yemen, please see Yemen Focus.
© 2012 Menas Associates
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