SAUDI-YEMENI RELATIONS, 1962-1982: THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE

This thesis investigates relations among Saudi Arabia, North Yemen (Yemen Arab Republic) and South Yemen (People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) during the period 1962-1982. It is the first study to explicitly examine this triangular relationship. The thesis focuses specifically on the question of why the Saudis have been so successful in influencing North Yemen and so unsuccessful in influencing South Yemen, on the issues of relations with other powers and Yemeni unity. This analysis highlights the patterns and continuities in the international politics of South Arabia and in the goals and methods of Saudi foreign policy there.;The thesis examines Saudi-Yemeni relations within the conceptual framework of influence relations, defining the concept and testing a number of explanations for international influence against the cases of Saudi-North Yemini and Saudi-South Yemeni relations. It is concluded that two variables within the target state of the influence attempt--government structure and state control over society--best explain the variation in Saudi influence. In North Yemen, during the period under study, political power was fragmented and the state exercised little control over society. Saudi Arabia exploited this situation to penetrate the decision-making process of the North Yemeni government. Conversely, in South Yemen a centralized and hierarchically organized government exercised firm control over society, effectively closing off the kinds of avenues of access the Saudis utilized in the North.