Jump to navigation. Across the sprawling yard, drivers haggle with men in uniform, and money changes hands in exchange for registrations and authorizations. Offices in the two buildings that frame the courtyard are used for more complicated business, such as issuing certifications that only the director general can provide. One afternoon, a Yemeni businessman stood on a balcony overlooking the yard. Similar scenes showing a lack of state authority and of alternative power structures are found across the city.
One morning, I visited the interior ministry and spoke to a senior military officer who was busy on the phone trying to prevent the escalation of a land dispute in Aden that had already left two of his cousins dead. As he explained, although the land issue was being tried in court, the deaths had to be resolved between the families. In this landscape of competing political and tribal authorities, where officials leverage their individual authority to supplement their meager incomes, interest groups fill the voids.
They exploit a situation in which President Ali Abdullah Saleh is able to extend his rule over parts of the country only through the proxy of favored tribal leaders. These groups buy the loyalty of segments of the population and manipulate local domestic conflicts to their perceived interests.
Joseph E. Stiglitz, Todd N. Tucker, and Gabriel Zucman. This site uses cookies to improve your user experience. Click here to learn more. In-depth analysis delivered weekly - Subscribe to our newsletter, featuring our editors' top picks from the past week. Sign in Subscribe. Subscribe Login Sign up. Foreign Policy. Trending U. Stay informed. In-depth analysis delivered weekly. Related Articles.
