The 2011 Civil War within Yemen and the Fighting against AQAP - Research Paper Example

The Civil War within Yemen and the fighting against AQAP This paper presents a research on the 2011 civil war within Yemen in relation to the variables and factors which motivated the war. The participation of the US within Yemen in particular to the fight against the AQAP is also presented within the research. As hypothesized and proved by the research findings, poor leadership, economic and political struggles within Yemen and the aid of the US to the country are described within this research paper in light of the civil war and the fighting against terror-groups. The findings of the research are also presented in comparison to the assumptions of the study. Introduction The 2011 civil war within Yemen was characterized by aid from the US which contributed to the revolution. The poor management of the Yemen government under the leadership of Ali Abdullah Saleh and the struggles within the country are argued to be the motivation for the revolution1. Notably, the war against terrorist groups within Yemen and the contribution of the US in fighting the Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP) has attracted many studies which investigate the dependent and independent variables within the Yemen fighting. Past research on the demonstrate that funding and leadership were the major factors that motivated the war but fail to illustrate how an interplay of various political, economic and military factors contributed to the civil war and the anti-terror fighting within Yemen. This paper presents a critical analysis of the 2011 civil war in Yemen with an aim of arguing upon a hypothesis that the challenges within Yemen, poor leadership, aid from the US contributed significantly to the war and the escalation of the anti-terrorist fighting against the AQAP. Research Area The research that is presented within this paper is on civil war within a state and war against terror groups in the Arab World with an aid from the US. There is a need for another research on the Yemen civil war in 2011 because the interplay of factors and variables within this war will shape the international relationships between the western and the Arab worlds. In addition, more research on the civil war is required so that the hypotheses on the war can be ascertained and answered. In addition, the misconceptions that have resulted from the civil war especially on the US involvement will be removed through a thorough research, analysis and critique of past research on this war. More importantly, this research is important because it will define the course of the anti-terror war of the future. Finally this research is important because it will create an understanding of the environment within the Arab world and specifically Yemen, leadership and the struggles within the country and their role in the revolution. Importance of topic The topic within this research paper is important based on the implications that the issues analyzed within the paper have for international relationships. For example the role of the US in the fight against terror groups within the Arab world is significant because it shapes the future military and political influence of the US in Yemen and other countries within the region. In addition, the role of internal economic and political climate within Yemen in defining its political stability makes this topic an important area for study. This is attributed to the fact that regardless of the revolution within Yemen, the country is still faced with political and economic struggles. Moreover, this topic is important because the US has still demonstrated an interest within Yemen for various reasons in addition to the terrorist factor. Therefore the different understanding that has emanated from the civil war in Yemen makes this topic important for analysis. Literature review Past research on the political and economic landscape within Yemen reveal that this country is faced with various economic and political challenges2. In addition, it is argued that the thereat that AQAP poses within Yemen will be shaped by the struggles that are experienced within the country3. Yemen depends largely on foreign aid because over 40% of the population is categorized to be poor. The role of the US in the 2011 Civil war is related by the poor economic state within the country4. However, researchers show that the interests of the US within Yemen are motivated by the need to have more influence within the Arab world and a successful war against terror groups such as AQAP5. Past literature on the topic however show that there is a gap in demonstrating how the various variables of the war and the political and economic factors when combined contributed to the Yemen civil war and the fighting against the terror groups. Question Past literature on the topic has revealed that various economic and political factors played a role in the 2011 civil war within Yemen in addition to the fighting against the AQAP. This has resulted into a researchable question that would investigate the various aspects of the war including the international relationship issues that are likely to emanate from this war. Therefore this research paper will be focused at answering the following research question. What is the interplay of poor leadership, internal struggles and aid from the US on driving the 2011 civil war in Yemen and the escalation of the war against terror activities of the AQAP? Objective/ Goal of the paper The goal of this paper is to bring out a clear understanding of the role of poor leadership in Yemen, the economic struggles of the nation and aid from the US on the 2011 civil war and the intensification of war on terrorist activities of the AQAP. This therefore aims at presenting security analysts with credible data upon which they will describe the implications of the 2011 Yemen civil war on international relations and the fight against terror groups. Contextualizing the Research The data that is analyzed in this research paper includes the management of the Yemen government, the political and economic challenges within Yemen, the US aid to Yemen, the 2011 civil war and the fight against AQAP. The data therefore represents the variables that are analyzed in the research paper to answer the research hypothesis. The dependent and independent variables of this research are described in the following sections of the paper. Expected Findings The expected results of the research are a correlation between the poor leadership within Yemen and the political and economic struggles with the civil war. These results are related to the first hypothesis of the research. The expected results are also based on past research on the Yemen civil war of 2011 which illustrate that the poor management of the government by Ali Abdullah Saleh contributed to the uprising6. In addition, the poverty within Yemen and the political challenges are depicted by researchers as one of the major causes of the civil war7. Therefore the results of the research are expected to reflect that there was mismanagement of the Yemen government by illustrating indicators such as corruption and violation of the rule of the law. In addition, economic struggles within the country such as a high rate of poverty and unemployment are expected to feature in the results of the research. The research also expects to demonstrate that the US involvement in Yemen and its economic aid to the country as one of the major fuels of the fighting in the country during the civil war and the related escalation of the war on AQAP. The research findings are expected to demonstrate the reasons why the US is interested in Yemen. In addition, evidence of financial aid from the US to Yemen is expected in the findings. More importantly, it is expected that the research results will demonstrate terrorist activities within Yemen as propagated by AQAP. The action of the US against the terrorist groups within Yemen and the impact on this action on security and international relations is also expected within the findings of the research. Variables The civil war is the dependent variable within this research. This is because it is the civil war that is being measured within the study and how it is affected by other causal factors such as the economic and political landscape within the country during the time of the war. The political and economic climate within Yemen and the US involvement are the two independent variables within this research. Therefore an analysis of findings on the independent variables will be used to determine how they influenced the 2011 civil war in Yemen as the dependent variable of the research. Sources of Data The sources of data in this research include that which is retrieved from existing literature and various datasets as described in the following section of the paper. Existing Literature Existing literature on Yemen was obtained from past literature as reported on research articles in journals and scientific publications. In addition, research findings were gathered from reports such as those published in Time International on the Yemen Civil War and the role of the US in the war in addition to the fight against terrorist groups in the country. In addition, policies such as the Middle East Policy were also used as sources of data for the research. The research targeted past literature with a focus on data on the 2011 civil war within Yemen. Datasets Various datasets were also used within this research. These include the Polity IV Project which provided data on political regimes and allowed an understanding of the political environment within Yemen which contributed to the civil war. In addition, Human Development Index was also used as one of the datasets with an aim of ranking the position of Yemen in accordance to the economic factor which is reflective of the struggles that the country experienced prior to the civil war. Findings Results/Testing the Hypothesis Autocratic authority within Yemen is attributed to the uprising and the fighting which led to the 2011 civil war8. This illustrates that poor management of the Yemen government is attributed to the rise of the revolution. These results are consistent to the hypothesis of the research. The 2011 civil war within Yemen was motivated by the need for change in governance so that the rights and needs of the people would be upheld. In this sense, poor leadership in Yemen as one of the independent variables is related to the civil war that is used as a dependent variable within the research. The findings of the research reveal that Yemen is categorized in the 8th position among the failed state of the world9. This ranking is based on various political, economic and social factors which characterize the state. It is also reported that Yemen, when compared to other countries within the Middle East, it is the poorest state10. The poverty within the country is argued to be the cause of the public unrest which characterized the country prior to the civil war of 201111. It is therefore indicative that the struggles within Yemen as independent variables of the research are directly related to the civil war, the dependent variable. These results are therefore congruent to the hypothesis of the research. The findings of the research reveal that the poverty within Yemen has caused it to depend on foreign aid especially from the US. About $ 23 million is granted to Yemen from the US annually12. This reveals that the US has an interest within this state. In addition to direct foreign aid to Yemen, the US Department of Defense also provided $30.5 million to Yemen in support of the anti-terrorist activities within the country13. These findings reflect that the US’s fight against the Al-Qaida in the Arab Peninsula within Yemen aggravated the fighting or conflicts within the country. These findings are parallel to the hypothesis of the research. The aid that the US has provided for Yemen is described as a form of security assistance in which the security situation is expected to improve as a result of this aid. Research findings further disclose that the aid of the US to Yemen is meant to help the county to actively combat the activities of the AQAP and the threat that this group has to the national and international security14. The move by the US led to divisions within the country based on the religious and tribal divisions which led to the escalation of fighting within the country15. This illustrates that as hypothesized by the research, the involvement of the US within Yemen and the financial aid that it provided this is one of the reasons for the increased fighting against the terrorist group. Comparing Assumptions with Results Research results show that leadership and funding of Yemen by the US have the most significant role to play in the Civil War of 2011 and the increased anti-terrorist activities within the country16. These results are in line with the assumptions that were presented at the beginning of research paper. Past research on the civil war show that ineffective leadership within the country was related to the terrorist activities within the country into which the US was directly opposed17. These findings are congruent with the assumptions that interplay of various factors within Yemen contributed to the civil war and the fight against the AQAP which was operating within Yemen. In the beginning of the research, it was assumed that the involvement of the US within Yemen has various implications on international relationships and the fight against terrorism. However the findings within this research did not reveal directly how international relations would be affected by the funding efforts of the US as directed towards Yemen. Regardless of this though, past literature on international relations reflect that the role of the US in Yemen is driven or motivated by the need to exert a political and economic influence within the Middle East by the use of Yemen as a leveling ground for these endeavors18. This scenario is predicted to have future implications on the manner in which the US relates to other countries within the region. The research findings of this paper extend past studies on the civil war of 2011 within Yemen by demonstrating how various variables and factors within the war interplayed in causing the war and the anti-terror activities within the country. More importantly the role of the US in the financial and political support within Yemen and how it assisted to fight terrorist groups is a major contribution of this research to the body of knowledge. It is therefore arguable that the results of this investigation and analysis is important in filling the identified gaps in past literature of on the 2011 civil war in Yemen and the participation of the US through military combat and financial aid in fighting the AQAP. Conclusion From the findings of this research and the analysis of past literature, reports and policies, it is evident that various variables and factors played a role in the 2011 civil war within Yemen and the fight against AQAP terrorist group. These are the political and economic struggles within the country and poverty which caused the civil war that characterize the revolution in Yemen. Poor leadership and governance is also attributed to the civil war. The findings of the research also show the active involvement of the US with Yemen which led to the escalation of the anti-terrorist war against the AQAP. References Country Report. (2011). Monthly review: June 2011: The political scene. Country Report. Yemen, (6), 9-11. Failed States Index. (2012). Yemen. Retrieved on 18 November 2012 from Ghosh, B., Calabresi, M., Holmes, O., & Stier, E. (2011). Yemen: The Most Dangerous Domino. Time International (Atlantic Edition), 177(10), 28-33. Global Political Outlook. (2011). Israel Defence & Security Report, (3), 11-18. Greenwald, A. (2011). A Decade After 9/11 What We Got Right In The War On Terror. Commentary, 132(2), 14-27. Institut Européen de Recherche sur la Coopération Euro-Arabe (MEDEA). (2007). Yemen. Retrieved on November 18, 2012 from Kasinof, L. (2011). Protesters in Yemen Vow to Stay On Streets. New York Times, 8 MEED. (2011).Yemen on the brink of civil war. (2011). MEED: Middle East Economic Digest, 55(22), 8-9. Middle East Security Overview. (2011). Iran Defence & Security Report, (3), 18-33. Political Conditions. (2012). Yemen Country Review, 10-49. Polity IV Project (2010). Authority Trends, 1946-2010: Yemen. Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800-2010. Retrieved on 18 November 2012 from Scahill, J. (2011). The Dangerous Us Game In Yemen. Nation, 292(16), 11-19. Stratfor Analysis. (2011). Yemens Saleh Returns To Continue the Fight. Stratfor Analysis, 54. Stratfor Analysis. (2011). Yemens Tribal Troubles. Stratfor Analysis, 103. Ulrichsen, K. (2011). The Geopolitics of Insecurity in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Middle East Policy, 18(2), 120-135. Endnotes Read More