Hardcover
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
A nation with a rich civilization that has spanned 3,000 years, Yemen is the only democratic republic in the Arabian Peninsula. While events in modern-day Yemen are often in international news, most Americans know nothing about this country—nor are there easy-to-read, up-to-date resources for lay audiences. This book fills the gap in the literature. It describes Yemen's geography, economy, politics and government, history, culture, society and contemporary events, presenting a comprehensive but accessible overview of the country from many different angles—coverage that is long overdue.
Editor Steven C. Caton has taken care to create a resource that is readily comprehensible to non-specialists such as high school and college students and general readers as well as highly informative for those with previous knowledge about Yemen. His thorough treatment provides synthetic overviews of key topics, discusses and dismisses certain misconceptions about Yemen, offers surprising perspectives on the relatively unknown country, and underscores Yemen's importance to the region and the wider world—both in ancient times and today.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781598849271 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Bloomsbury Academic |
| Publication date: | 04/09/2013 |
| Series: | Middle East in Focus |
| Pages: | 371 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.90(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introduction xi
1 Geography Charles Schmiti 1
The Land 1
Geology and Topography 4
Climate 6
Temperature 6
Moisture 6
Ecological Adaptations 8
Highland and Lowland Agriculture 9
Crops and Their Geography 12
Resources 14
Groundwater 14
Groundwater and Qat 15
National Food Security 16
Emigration 17
Immigration 17
Ethnic Groups 18
Tribes 18
Other Groups 19
Three Facets of Yemen's Population: Size, Dynamics, and Urban-Rural Divide 19
What Is Yemen? 24
Who Are Yemenis? 25
2 History Steven C. Caton 29
Chronology 29
Prehistoric 29
Ancient 29
Medieval Period 30
Modern Period 31
Prehistory 32
The Ancient Kingdoms 34
The Sabaeans 34
The Himyarites 45
The Coming of Islam 48
The Medieval Kingdoms 49
The Ziyadid Dynasty (820-1018 CE) 49
The Sulayhid Dynasty (1047-1138 CE) 50
The Rasulid Dynasty (1228-1454) 52
The Tahirid Dynasty (1455-1547) 55
The Zaydi Imamate (911-1962) 60
The Modern Period 64
The British Protectorate in Aden, the Second Ottoman Occupation of Yemen, and the Rise of the Hamid al-Din Imams 65
The Yemeni Civil War (1962-1970) and British Withdrawal from Aden (1967) 70
YAR and PDRY (1970-1990) 70
Development and Growth in the YAR (1980-1990): Agriculture, Oil, and Gas 73
Unification (1990) 77
Terrorist Attacks 84
3 Politics and Government Stacey Philbrick Yadav Ali Saif Hassan 89
Political Legacies from Yemen's History 91
Two States, Two Regimes: North and South Yemen 91
Road to Unification 94
The Republic of Yemen 96
The Unity Constitution 96
Political Parties and Political Pluralism 97
The Executive Branch 98
The Legislative Branch 100
The Judicial Branch 101
Local Government and the Devolution of Authority 103
Civil-Military Relations 103
Yemen's Foreign Policy 104
State-Society Relations 106
Civil Society and Associational Life 106
Religion and Politics 107
The Roles of Women in Politics 109
Conclusion 111
4 The Economy Charles Schmitz 113
Yemen's Economy in Historical Perspective 114
The Political Economy of Agriculture 114
Rural Markets 115
Modern Urban Markets 117
Republican Government and Economic Transformation 118
Socialist Government and Economic Transformation 120
United Yemen (Republic of Yemen) and Its Economic Challenges 120
Contemporary Issues in the Yemeni Economy 121
Corruption, Politics, and the Economy 122
Economically Exploitable Natural Resources 123
Oil and Gas 123
Mining 125
Port of Aden 125
Fishing 125
Industry 126
Agriculture 126
Arabic Land Scarcity 127
Food Security 128
Crops 128
Manufacturing 130
Labor 131
Sectoral Distribution 131
Emigration 133
Unions 135
Trade and Finance 136
Trade Patterns 136
Finance 137
Measuring Yemen's Poverty and Placing It in Context 138
5 Society 141
Religion and Thought Steven C. Caton 141
Shafi'i (Sunni) Islam 143
Zaydi Islam 147
Ismaili Islam 149
Sufism 153
Yemenite Jewry Asher Orkaby 156
Elaborate Myths of Origin 157
Early History as Merchants of the Indian Ocean Trade 157
Transition from Trade to Artisanry 159
Religious and Social Life 160
A Messianic Community 161
The Jewish Artisan and the Muslim Farmer 162
Exodus of Yemenite Jewry and Operation Magic Carpet 163
Social Groups and Ethnicity Steven C. Caton 165
The Tribes 165
What Is a Tribe? 165
Who Is a Tribesman? 168
Tribal Confederations 170
Tribal Dispute Mediation 171
The Role and Power of Tribal Sheikhs 176
The Saadah 177
The Judges (Qudhaa') 182
Servant Groups 182
Khaddaam 183
Akhdam 184
Marriage, Family Life, and Women Steven C. Caton 187
Marriage 187
The Family Household 190
The House 191
The Neighborhood 193
Weddings 194
Religious Festivals or 'Ids 195
Concepts of Gender and Sexuality 195
Honor and Sexual Modesty 196
The Female in the Family 198
Homosociality 199
Changes Affecting Women since the 1960s 199
Education Steven C. Caton 202
Traditional Education in Yemen 202
Modern Education 204
Problems and Challenges Facing Modern Education 205
Possibilities and Limits of Educational Reform 207
6 Culture 211
Arabic Language Steven C. Caton 213
Classical Arabic, Modern Standardized, Arabic, and Dialect Arabic 214
South Arabic 216
The Dialect of Yemeni Arabic 217
Etiquette Steven C. Caton 218
Greetings 218
Conversation 221
Hospitality toward the Stranger and Guest 222
Meals 222
The Qat Chew 224
Gift Giving 227
Bargaining 228
Friendship and Hand-Holding in Public 228
Challenging Someone in Public 229
Literature 230
Classical Poetry and Prose: From Ancient Times until the Present Mohammed Sharafuddin 230
Classical Poetry 230
First Period: 500-750 CE 231
Second Period: 751-1837 CE 234
Third Period: 1838 until the Present 236
Humayni Dialect Poetry Steven C. Caton 238
Tribal Oral Poetry Steven C. Caton 240
Poetry 240
Tribal Poetry in the 2011 Yemeni "Arab Spring," 246
Non-Arabic Poetry Steven C. Caton 247
Yemeni Fiction and Theater Katherine Hennessey 247
Yemeni Fiction 247
Theater in Yemen 250
Dance Steven C. Caton 255
Food Steven C. Caton 256
Yemeni Architecture Steven C. Caton 259
Popular Culture Steven C. Caton 265
7 Contemporary Issues 269
Political Conflicts Stacey Philbrick Yadav 270
The Houthi Conflict (2004-Present) 270
The Southern Movement (2007-Present) 272
The Rise of AQAP (2009-Present) 273
The "Change Revolution" (2011-Present) Stacey Philbrick Yadav 276
Yemenis in Guantanamo Bay Charles Schmitz 280
Water Crisis Steven C. Caton 284
History of Sustainable Water Use in Yemen 284
The Impacts 285
New or Additional Water Sources? 285
Internal Migration? 285
Rural-Urban Transfers 286
Water Markets 286
Shifting Crop Production 287
National Administrative Reform 288
National Water Law 290
Reeducating Yemen's Civil Engineers 291
Glossary 295
Facts and Figures 307
Major Yemen Holidays 319
Country-Related Organizations 321
Annotated Bibliography 329
About the Editor and Contributors 339
Thematic Index 341
Subject Index 357