When today's news talk about Yemen, the same words always come up: war, hunger, destruction, attacks on ships, bombings. But if you look a little closer and dig deeper, it becomes clear: war is just the tip of the iceberg. Yemen has long lived not just outside the 21st century, but somewhere in a parallel reality, where the state as such does not exist, and its place is taken by tribes, religious leaders, and armed groups.

Why, then, does a country with the oldest history, a rich cultural heritage, and a strategic position at the crossroads of trade routes feel like a living museum of the Middle Ages today? Let's try to figure it out.

The State That Does Not Exist

The paradox of Yemen is that it formally has a government. In reality, it does not. Since 2014, when the Yemeni capital of Sana was seized by the Houthis, power in the country has finally broken down into many fragments. Today's Yemen is a patchwork quilt of warring territories, each with its own rulers, laws, and — more importantly — its own armed units.

The internationally recognized government sits in Riyadh (the Saudi capital, not the Yemeni) and, according to analysts, is almost unable to govern even the territories it nominally controls. The temporary capital, Aden, is immersed in chaos: electricity is regularly cut off, streets are patrolled not by police but by local armed groups, and officials receiving salaries from abroad are not in a hurry to return home.

At the same time, the Presidential Council (a collective body formally governing Yemen) consists of eight people who constantly conflict with each other and cannot share power. Such an organ is not able to either adopt laws, control the troops, or save the economy.

In the north, where most of the population lives, the Houthis rule. They are also Ansar Allah — a military-political movement supported by Iran. They have their own courts, army, taxes, ideology, mixed with religion and military dictatorship.

In the south, the so-called Transitional Council establishes its own order. This group does not hide its separatist intentions: it wants to restore the borders of the old, separate South Yemen that existed until 1990. Surprisingly, its leader formally belongs to that very Presidential Council. The situation where a person who wants to dismantle the country officially enters its highest governing body perfectly characterizes the "state structure" of modern Yemen.

In such a situation, what kind of state can we talk about? In the classical understanding of the state, there should be a unified army, laws, borders. None of this exists in Yemen. Instead, there is chaos, in which the strongest takes the right to govern.

Power Not of Law, But of Tribes

The Middle Ages were different from modernity not only by the absence of the internet but also by the way society was organized. A person was not a citizen, but a subject: first of his clan, then of his suzerain, and then — at best — of his king. Yemen today has returned to this model.

The tribe means everything here. Affiliation — to which clan you belong, what traditions your family has — determines your rights, obligations, opportunities, and even security.

Researchers note that in modern Yemen, tribalism is not just alive, it is gaining strength. The weakening of the state has led to the fact that tribes have once again taken on functions that in normal countries are performed by the government: they judge, collect taxes, protect their territory, and even conclude international alliances.

Instead of laws, the tribal code and the customs of blood revenge are in effect. If there is no police in your country and the neighboring village has killed your relative, no one will call 112. You take up arms and go to restore justice as your ancestors did a thousand years ago.

Understanding this, it is no longer surprising why it is so difficult to establish peace in Yemen. You cannot sign a peace treaty with a country that does not exist. You can only reach an agreement with dozens of tribal leaders, each of whom pulls the blanket to himself.

The Economy of Stone and Katana

The economic appearance of Yemen also takes us back to the past. The basis of the economy is natural or semi-natural agriculture. More than half of the workforce is employed in the agricultural sector. This is not high-tech farms, but tiny family plots where everything is processed by hand.

The main agricultural crop is kat. Kat is a narcotic shrub whose leaves are chewed by almost all Yemenis (both men and women) for most of the day. It is not just a habit, it is a kind of social glue. But it has terrible economic consequences.

Kat requires an enormous amount of water. In a country where there is already a chronic shortage of water, this is a crime against the future. The best lands are given to kat, which could have been used to grow wheat, fruits, and vegetables. Tens of thousands of families sit on this "needle" — if they take away kat, the already fragile economy will collapse.

Oil, which once gave hope for prosperity, has become a curse today. Its reserves are small compared to neighbors, and constant wars have destroyed the infrastructure. Instead of working for the future, oil fields have become an apple of discord, a source of funding for opposing sides.

Finally, there is war. War is the main "economic activity" of Yemen. It feeds warlords, arms barons, and international intermediaries. Millions of people live on humanitarian aid, not producing anything. This is an economy of survival, not development.

The Past That Did Not Become Past

It should be said that the "medieval" appearance of Yemen has a deep historical background. States on its territory have been organized differently than in Europe for centuries. In the Middle Ages, it was in Yemen (under the Rasulid dynasty) that a unique culture, art, and architecture were formed, leaving an indelible mark.

Empires here were not centralized, but rather "tribal federations". Imams — spiritual and secular leaders — ruled for centuries, relying on the support of elite clans. When in the 20th century they tried to build a modern state, these medieval structures did not disappear. They simply went underground, waiting for their time. And that time came in 2011, after the "Arab Spring," when central power collapsed.

Therefore, what we see today is not degradation, but a return to the origins. To the form of social organization that was natural for Yemen for most of its history.

The Shadow of Empires

You cannot talk about the "medievalism" of Yemen without mentioning the external factor. For many years, the country has been a battlefield for regional powers. Iran supports the Houthis to gain access to the Red Sea and threaten Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia (and the UAE) have been bombing Yemen for years, trying to restore a pro-Saudi government, but have only deepened the chaos.

Both sides use Yemen as a testing ground for weapons and a field for proxy wars. Who is their own in this war and who is foreign? A simple Yemeni whose house has been bombed is unlikely to be able to answer this question. He just wants to survive.

And here lies the main helplessness of the world community. The UN has been trying to reconcile the warring parties for years, but all peace plans have failed because the real "players" are outside the country. Their interests are far from peace in Yemen.

Conclusion: Despair or Hope?

So, why does Yemen look like a medieval country?

Politically, there is no unified state here. Power is divided between tribes, military groups, and religious leaders. Socially, a person is not a citizen, but a member of a tribe. The law does not apply, but traditions and the rule of force. Economically, the basis of life is natural economy and trade in the narcotic plant kat. Psychologically, people live for today, in conditions of constant war and the absence of prospects.

But it would be a mistake to write off Yemen. This country has an ancient culture that the варвары of our days are trying to erase from the face of the earth. There is amazing architecture — the mudbrick skyscrapers of Shibam, which have stood for hundreds of years. There are people who remember the times of peace and prosperity.

The question is whether the world community has enough intelligence and will to not just bomb Yemen or feed it with humanitarian aid, but really help it create a functioning state. So far, the answer is obvious: not enough. And Yemen continues to live in its own, medieval world, where time stopped at the moment when progress gave way to chaos.
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