Navigating Historical and Political Challenges

On 13 January 1986, the capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen ( pdry ), Aden, was afflicted by a violent leadership struggle within the Yemeni Socialist Party ( ysp ). Although this event took place almost forty years ago, the year of 1986 has been persistently treated by think tanks, researchers, international organizations, and policymakers, as a portent for potential conflicts in contemporary South Yemen. Drawing upon policy reports related to the August 2019 confrontations between the Southern Transitional Council ( stc ) and the former Internationally Recognized Government of Yemen ( irgy ), I analyze how the three intersecting axes of regional origin, age, and political positionality have been key factors in marginalizing and excluding southern activists from governance and self-determination. I then discuss how activists try to overcome the delegitimization of their calls for independence. This paper opens up discussions on multiple systems of marginalization intersecting in southern activists’ lives

Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts