ABSTRACT
As in many other countries, the impact of modernisation on the two Yemens has been as multifaceted as it has been devastating. The years 1962 and 1967 have seminal importance in Yemeni history as they, officially at least, mark the establishment of ‘modern’ — or, actually, ‘modernising’ — and self-proclaimed revolutionary states in both halves of Yemen. The first stages of political change in Yemen, i.e. neo-traditionalism in the North and colonialism in the South, can be very clearly distinguished from more recent developments by the key dates of 26 September 1962 and 30 November 1967. It may be only realistic to assume that the mosaic model provides the most likely avenue for future change in the Yemens. This brief survey indicates that the path of political development in the two Yemens has been anything but straightforward. It is perhaps not entirely Utopian to advocate a gradual, incremental approach to the dilemma.
