Since the end of the Cold War Yemen's international position is governed by its precarious relations with its powerful neighbour Saudi Arabia and by extension the United States. In this important book based on a wide range of Arab and Western sources, the author analyses contemporary foreign policy issues and security matters - notably that of the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, where Yemen is a significant player. With a wide range of sources including contact with key Yemeni and US policy-makers, Dr Al-Madhagi discusses US interests in Yemen, showing how the area fitted - and did not fit - into US policy-making during the Cold War and its aftermath. He analyses the relationship of a small state and superpower - from the Yemeni revolution in 1962 to unification in 1990 and demonstrates the often tetchy aspects of such relations. He also charts more recent disputes - with the US after the Gulf War and with Saudi Arabia over oil. This book makes an essential contribution to a better understanding of American foreign policy in the Middle East as well as the potential instabilities of the Arabian Peninsula.
Ahmed Nomen Al-Madhagi is a Yemeni scholar specializing in contemporary history, politics and international relations, who undertook his research at the LSE, in Washington and Yemen.