ABSTRACT
Yemen's achievements were concentrated on the development of formal administrative institutions, for their immediate necessity in the face of demands for socio-economic development. The Hamdi era provides the steps in the process but eventual success depends on the long-run continuation and culmination of all the programmes, particularly those concerned with socio-economic development. Legitimacy for any Yemen Arab Republic (YAR) government depends in large measure on its ability to foster socio-economic development. Local Development Associations (LDAs) provide a potential nucleus for an alternative system of administration for socio-economic development, in filling a gap left by the ineffectiveness or disinterestedness of local authorities. In terms of state-building, the 1960s marked a period of stagnation and even retrogression in a few areas from the preceding Imamate era. Much of the traditional structure was maintained on the local level while state-building at the national level was subordinated to the higher priorities of securing survival and handling day-to-day crises.
