The federalization of Yemen is the proposed transformation of the
Republic of Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and sha ...
from a
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...
to a
federal state
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
. Driven by the significant
economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
,
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
,
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, and
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
differences between the northern and southern parts of the country, federalization has been a common and controversial proposal to resolve regionalist tensions since the
unification of the country in 1990.
Early history
In 1962, the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Aden Protectorate
The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...
was transformed into the
Federation of South Arabia
The Federation of South Arabia ( ar, اتحاد الجنوب العربي ') was a federal state under British protection in what would become South Yemen. Its capital was Aden.
It was formed on 4 April 1962 from the 15 protected states of ...
, which initially contained 15 states. The country became
South Yemen
South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
, a unitary state, in 1967.
After South Yemen unified with
North Yemen
North Yemen may refer to:
* Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962)
* Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...
in 1990, the new government was quickly divided over the issue of decentralization, with the
Yemeni Socialist Party
The Yemeni Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب الاشتراكي اليمني, ''al-Hizb al-Ishtiraki al-Yamani'', YSP) is a political party in Yemen. A successor of Yemen's National Liberation Front, it was the ruling party in South Yemen until Y ...
expressing support for a federal system while the
General People's Congress opposed it. While an agreement was eventually reached to decentralize the country, it was largely abandoned following the outbreak of
a civil war in 1994. Decentralization continued to find popularity among members of the Yemeni opposition, and the opposition coalition known as the
Joint Meeting Parties
Before the Yemeni Revolution in 2011 and the following civil war, Yemen was a one party dominant state in which the General People's Congress (GPC) held power.
Legal status
Yemen's Political Parties Law mandates that political parties be viable ...
expressed interest in federalism in 2009.
Hadi plan
![Regions of Yemen map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Regions_of_Yemen_map.svg)
The 2013–2014
National Dialogue Conference
The National Dialogue Conference (NDC) was a transitional dialogue process held at the Movenpick Hotel in Sanaa, Yemen from March 18, 2013 to January 24, 2014, as part of the Yemeni crisis reconciliation efforts.
National Dialogue is a key part of ...
concluded that Yemen would adopt federalism in an attempt to resolve the
political crisis
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
that began with the
Yemeni Revolution
The Yemeni Revolution ( intifada), also known as the Yemeni Revolution of Dignity followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and other Arab Spring protests in the ...
in 2011. Under the federal system, Yemen's full name would become the Federal Republic of Yemen. A committee organized by Yemeni President
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi
Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi ( ar, عبدربه منصور هادي, translit=ʿAbd Rabbih Manṣūr Hādī Yemeni pronunciation: ; born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former field marshal of the Yemeni Armed Forces who served as the pres ...
determined that Yemen would be split into six federal regions: Azal,
Saba Saba may refer to:
Places
* Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea
* Şaba (Romanian for Shabo), a town of the Odesa Oblast, Ukraine
* Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras
* Saba (river), L ...
,
Tihama
Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb.
Etymology
Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in masc ...
, Aden, Janad, and
Hadhramaut
Hadhramaut ( ar, حَضْرَمَوْتُ \ حَضْرَمُوتُ, Ḥaḍramawt / Ḥaḍramūt; Hadramautic: 𐩢𐩳𐩧𐩣𐩩, ''Ḥḍrmt'') is a region in South Arabia, comprising eastern Yemen, parts of western Oman and southern Sau ...
. Azal, Saba, Janad and Tihama would have been northern provinces whereas Aden and Hadhramaut would have been southern.
Sana’a
Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...
, the capital, was to become a
federal city
The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia.
Germany
In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...
and would not have been part of any region.
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
, the former capital of South Yemen, would have been a part of the Aden region, but would have had special legislative and executive powers.
Each region was to be further divided into states, which would have taken the place of Yemen's existing
governorates
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
.
The conclusions of the Conference formed the basis of a new constitution, which was to be put to a referendum in 2015.
The plan for a six-region federation received international praise, but was denounced by many within Yemen.
The
Southern Movement
The Southern Movement ( ''al-Ḥirāk al-Janūbiyy''), sometimes known as the Southern Separatist Movement, or South Yemen Movement, or Aden Movement, and colloquially known as al-Hirak, is a political movement and paramilitary organization act ...
suspected that the division of the south into two regions was an attempt to turn southern secessionists against each other; they preferred a two-region division between the north and the south. The
Zaidi elites in the Azal region would have been left with almost no natural resources, whereas the sparsely populated Saba and Hadhramaut regions would have received nearly all of the country's natural resources.
Meanwhile, the
Houthis
The Houthi movement (; ar, ٱلْحُوثِيُّون ''al-Ḥūthīyūn'' ), officially called Ansar Allah (' ''Partisans of God'' or ''Supporters of God'') and colloquially simply Houthis, is an Islamist political and armed movement that ...
were outraged that the plan would have landlocked their home governorate of
Saada
Saada ( ar, صَعْدَة, translit=Ṣaʿda), a city and ancient capital in the northwest of Yemen, is the capital and largest city of the province of the same name, and the county seat of the county of the same name. The city is located in the ...
. The referendum on the new federal constitution was indefinitely delayed by the intensification of the
Yemeni Civil War Yemeni Civil War may refer to several historical events which have taken place in Yemen:
*Alwaziri coup, February – March 1948
*Yemeni–Adenese clan violence, 1956–60
*North Yemen Civil War, 1962–70
*Aden Emergency, 1963–67
*South Yemen#Di ...
in 2015.
Some commentators have cited Hadi's federalization plan as one of the main causes of the civil war.
Flags of the regions
File:Flag of the State of Aden.svg, Flag of Aden Region.
File:Flag of Hadhramaut.svg, Flag of Hadhramaut Region.
File:Flag of Janad Region (Yemen).svg, Flag of Janad Region.
File:Flag of Saba Region (Yemen).png, Flag of Saba Region.
File:Flag of Tahama Region (Yemen).svg, Flag of Tahama Region.
See also
*
Federalization of Syria
The federalization of Syria has been controversially proposed as a possible solution to end the Syrian Civil War. In the broadest sense, it means turning the centralized Syrian Arab Republic into a federal republic with autonomous subdivisions ...
References
{{Reflist
Yemeni peace process
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
Decentralization
Proposals in Asia
Proposed political divisions
Public policy proposals