Anti-Government Protests in Yemen: A Frustrated Revolution?

Abstract

Ever since the antigovernment demonstrations began, the so-called Youth Revolution has had to deal with several challenges. The International Community has tried to deny the movement as a trustworthy interlocutor on the grounds of its heterogeneity. The belated participation of partisan opposition and the adherence of regime’s former allies (and even former government members) have contributed to the kidnapping of the movement’s pacific character and is threatening its revolutionary idiosyncrasy. Besides, the threat of a civil war, which would bring devastating consequences for regional and international safety, has lead to an excessively indulgent position of international parties towards Saleh government and their fickleness on signing the Gulf’s Agreement. These factors threaten to frustrate the current Yemeni Revolution. There is a real chance that popular desire of transformation ends stuck in a simple power transfer that proves to be mere political continuity.