ISSN 2360-7998
Abstract
Yemen’s prolonged political crisis raises a central question for International Relations: how can state authority be understood when formal institutions coexist with competing political identities, armed organisations, and rival claims to legitimacy? This article examines Yemen’s state fragility through a constructivist lens, focusing on historical division, identity formation, and non-state actors. Using qualitative documentary analysis of scholarly and policy literature, it traces the separate trajectories of North and South Yemen, unification in 1990, the 1994 civil war, the failed transition after 2011, and the rise of competing centres of authority after 2014. Four findings emerge: historical grievances remain available for political mobilisation; authority is fragmented rather than absent; informal networks interact with formal institutions; and identity narratives operate alongside material pressures and external intervention. The article argues that constructivism explains how identities and legitimacy are produced and contested, but it cannot replace explanations centred on coercive capacity, political economy, and institutional performance. A sustainable settlement requires inclusive bargaining, accountable institutions, and credible local governance that accommodate diversity without equating territorial control with popular legitimacy.
Keywords: Yemen; constructivism; state fragility; identity formation; non-state actors; political legitimacy; state formation