#Yemen - Tribalized States Or Tribes That Are Effectively States In The Middle East In the Middle East, however, the state’s use of tribal populations and authority in order to strengthen its control over the people has led to tribes becoming even stronger. Tribes whose authority is made use of are usually repaid by leaders with prestige and important posts within the state. As a result, tribalism is today even more powerful. As tribes become stronger they begin shaping political life, and they transform themselves into quasi-states. When the authority of a leader that binds tribes together is lost, as happened in post-Saddam Iraq and in Libya after the overthrow of Qaddafi, they enter into conflicts of interest and start fighting one another. Tribes also try to increase their influence and power in an unjust manner by means of favoritism. Tribal leaders are generally even able to step outside party policies in order to strength their own influence. Every tribe can organize and protect its own territory, much like a nation-state. That leads to enormous competition in the country; that competition leads to divisions, and those divisions lead to various conflicts. One can see two tribes with the same language, ethnicity or religion fighting to the death in Yemen. That of course means a serious breakdown in state authority in Yemen, as well as in peace and unity.
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 19:13:04 +0000
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