S1E8: Is Yemen the Graveyard of Empires? Yemen Was "the Vietnam" of Which Country? Are the Houthis a Ragtag Army? Do They Need Iran's Help?

The Ottomans, Portuguese and British have fought over Yemen. And through it all, the Zaydi Imamate has been there - since the 9th century. These are the roots of the Houthis - Shia Muslims who practice a different Shi'ism than Iran. As important as their religions beliefs may seem, including their association with Iran, as you will learn in this episode, it's more about geopolitics and power than anything else.

My guest for this episode is Dr. Charles Schmitz, a professor at ⁠Towson University⁠ and a non-resident scholar at the⁠ Middle East Institute.⁠

He is a specialist on the Middle East and Yemen. He started his academic career as a Fulbright Scholar and an American Institute for Yemeni Studies fellow in Yemen in the early 1990s, studying the country’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund’s reforms and the rise of Yemen’s oil economy. During the 2000s, Dr. Schmitz worked for the defense of Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay while also heading the American Institute for Yemeni Studies. His current research interests include the political economy of development in Yemen, international law, international governance and failing states, and the sociology of contemporary Yemeni society.

Dr. Schmitz has authored many publications, including the following:

• "Huthi Visions of the State: A Huthi Republic With an Unofficial Imam", which is a part of 2022 book The Huthi Movement in Yemen: Ideology, Ambition and Security in the Arab Gulf,
• Weighing the Tribal Factor in Yemen's Informal Politics, and
• Dictionary of Yemen.

⁠Subscribe here⁠ to get Adel's take in your inbox. Adel Aali

Host, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Unravelling the Middle East⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News Podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Unravelling the Middle East podcast is a production of the History Behind News program.

Image: Vectorized version of the Houthi Ansarullah "Al-Sarkha" banner. Arabic text, by lines: الله أكبر (⁠Allah is the greatest⁠) الموت لأمريكا (⁠death to America⁠) الموت لإسرائيل (⁠death to Israel⁠) اللعنة على اليهود (⁠a curse upon the Jews⁠) النصر للإسلام (victory to Islam). By ⁠RuneAgerhus⁠ (Own work) on ⁠Wikipedia⁠ under ⁠CC BY-SA 4.0 ⁠license.

Music attributions:

1. Opening and closing music of the program:

Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.

Music available on at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.

2. Background music to guest introduction:

The Desert | The Grand Score

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creatorchords.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.

3. Background music to promoting History Behind News episodes:

The Success by Keys of Moon | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Music promoted by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.free-stock-music.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.