Almost four years since the Houthis took control of Sana’a in 2014 and seven since initial protests against poor governance in 2011, Yemen remains engulfed in battles for power across the country, including within former alliances, such as the battle for control of Sana’a between the Houthis and Saleh loyalists which continued after his death in December 2017 (Salisbury, 2017).
This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy and NGO sources on the drivers of violent extremism in Yemen. It is a follow on from the earlier report ‘Violent Extremism and terrorism in Yemen’ (O’Driscoll, 2017) and as such focuses on the period between July 2017 and June 2018 rather than the entire conflict.