Description
Book SynopsisThis book chronicles the life and times of tribal leader Mujāhid Ḥaydar, scion of a prominent local dynasty, and his agency in highland Yemen’s political conflicts from the 1970s to the early 2000s. When the political elites of the Ṣāliḥ regime murder his father and his elder brothers, he is forced to exact revenge and lead his tribe through dramatic vicissitudes that culminate in the catastrophe of the Ḥūthī wars. Mujāhid’s life is a story of ongoing strife, heroism, resistance, commitment to the defence of honour, loss, and exile. His biography offers nuanced and original insights into how tribal politics in Yemen influence the domain of the state and are often intertwined with it – such that neither can be comprehended independently from the other.
Table of ContentsList of Maps and Figures Acknowledgements Introduction Notes on Transliteration Glossary Abbreviations Chronology Chapter 1: Childhood in Obscurity Chapter 2: The Serpent with the Many Heads Chapter 3: Burdensome Inheritances Chapter 4: The Road to Politics Chapter 5: The Time of Faits Accomplis Chapter 6: Those Who Loosen and Those Who Bind Some Final Thoughts on Tribes, Politics, and Passions References Index
