ABSTRACT
The essay examines the interrelated degradation of the conditions of individual citizenship in states of the north (France, the UK, and the USA) and of the south (Yemen). The mechanisms by which such is wrought in states of the north comprise governmental control over information, the legal definition and economic impact of arms sales on the commonwealth, and the pre-eminence of northern governments in inter-state fora, notably the UN Security Council. In Yemen the degradation of citizenship is more profound: an international mandate exercised by the northern states suspends the country’s constitution and justifies siege war on the people’s commonwealth.
