Security, Clans and Tribes ― Unstable Clans in Somaliland, Yemen and the Gulf of Aden

Both economically and strategically, the Gulf of Aden is globally one of the most important waterways. However, it is hemmed in on either side by two of the most unstable and dangerous territories in the world – Yemen and Somalia – which have become overrun by insurgencies, terrorist groups and pirates. As fragile and failed states, much is made of weak governance in these two countries. Yet this approach has been limiting. Closer investigation of the broader Gulf of Aden region reveals that many security challenges are not nationally confined but are interconnected. Others, due to large internal variation caused by the diverse manifestation of tribes and clans, are local. In both cases, a new framework of analysis is needed, one that looks at the whole of their territories and the Gulf of Aden at once. This book does just that, offering a new take on the Yemen/Somalia security conflagration.

From 2009–2012, Dr Alexandra Lewis assisted on an analysis of security in Yemen at the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), where she completed her doctoral thesis on violent young offending in Yemen. In 2013, she worked on a large evaluation of conflict across Somalia, leading an investigation of Somaliland. She was Module Leader for Development and Social Change at the School of Politics and International Studies in the University of Leeds from 2013–2014, before returning to the PRDU.