Preface

I first submitted the bulk of this book’s manuscript to Cambridge University Press in October 2010. At the time, I wrote urgently to the senior Middle East editor in New York City, Marigold Acland, predicting the collapse of Yemen’s government. “Do I have a manuscript for you!” is a parody of my words, yet it captures the thrust of my message. At the time, I had a working title, Yemen Unraveling. Marigold was patient with my enthusiasm, two months before a Tunisian youth named Muhammad Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid, unleashing dramatic mass street protests in Tunis and later Cairo, Egypt. By the end of January 2011, it was clear that the entire Arab world was witnessing a remarkable historical event. The following month, large street rallies commenced in Yemen, and by April it was obvious that the government of Yemen would not long endure.

Over the summer of 2011 Marigold presented a contract for publication. I was busy following every development in Yemen, as well as in other Arab countries caught in the “Arab spring,” including Libya, Bahrain, and Syria. By then, the politics of Tunisia and Egypt had receded into the background, and these other Arab states, including Yemen, drew more media attention. It was fortunate, while the process of editing my manuscript got under way, I had an opportunity to add new content that could account for the dramatic developments across 2011. Some frustration came from the fact that the Yemeni president was more determined to hold on to power than either Ben Ali of Tunisia or Husni Mubarak of Egypt. Anyone who has written current political history for later publication in print can appreciate the uncertainty under which I worked on the book’s conclusion.