ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Yemen’s perceived ‘passive’ and ‘schizophrenic’ approach to violent extremism can only be understood by understanding the historical evolution of the country, its internal political, economic and social system, as well as the country’s international and regional relations. It provides a historical context to the evolution of the Arab Yemen Republic, including an account of the historical divisions that led to the birth of North and South Yemen in 1962 and 1968, respectively. The chapter analyses the developments that led to the 1990 unification of North and South Yemen. It focuses on the events that led to the 1994 civil war that re-united the two Yemens, albeit at the expense of a democratic process. Yemen was one of the first Muslim countries to officially develop a process of religious dialogue inside its prisons to convince its incarcerated detainees to repent and abandon violence.
