A Study On The Houthi Movement In Yemen

Republic of Yemen is sandwiched by the Arab Sea and the Mandab Strait, close to the Persian Gulf, and it has an important geographic strategic significance. Recently years, Yemen has been undergoing a turmoil on its domestic politics, which makes an important effect on the peace and development in the Middle East region. In 2011, the Arab Spring erupted in Yemen that made Yemen become more turbulent. Because the Arab Spring aroused the tribal politics and the traditional Islamic religious sect conflict in Yemen. As an important tribal political group* the Houthi Movement took the chance of the Arab Spring to rise again in Yemen, and it started to fight against the Yemeni government. With the update of the conflict between the Houthi Movement and the Yemeni government, the Houthi Movement began to conquer territories since September,2014, which resulted in eruption of the civil war. The Houthi Movement is not only fighting against the government, but also fighting against the southern separatism,the AQAP and other armed groups. And the power of the Houthi Movement has grown gradually during the conflicts with these armed groups in Yemen, which made its neighbor countries nervous and upset. On March 26,2015, Saudi Arabic organized an alliance to fight against the Houthi Movement directly in Yemen, which internationalized the domestic issue of Yemen. Therefore, to study the Houthi Movement is meaningful to clear up the mess in Yemen and the situation of the Middle East.During the studying of the Houthi Movement, this article was based on the chronicle to clear up the development of the Houthi Movement, focusing on its political activities, military activities and diplomatic activities, meanwhile, the article had put the Houthi Movement together with relative political actors from domestic and abroad to compare. The chronicle of the Houthi Movement studies had been mainly divided into four periods. One was before 1962, the Yemen Revolution, one was from 1962 to 1990, the union of Yemen, one was from 1990 to 2010, the end of six Saada Wars, and another was from the end of 2010, the beginning of the Arab Spring to now. These periods fully showed the emergence, rising, declining and reviving of the Houthi Movement and its effect to Yemen.Through the studies and analysis on the Houthi Movement, the author thought that the Houthi Movement is developed from the northern Yemen as a religious sect power which is based on the zaidism, a branch of shi’ite. However, with the development of the Houthi Movement in Yemen, it has turned into an important political power from a religious sect power, which will make an important effect on the future development of the domestic politics in Yemen. Moreover, the turmoil in Yemen is also a religious sect game between Saudi Arabic and Iran in the Middle East region.