A History of Modern Yemen.

• Position: Books in Brief

Dresch, Paul. A History of Modern Yemen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Hardcover $59.00.

This comprehensive history of twentieth-century Yemen traces Yemeni development since Imam Yahya and his dealings with both the Turks and the British. Yahya's son, Badr, consolidated power in the North while the British controlled Aden and the rest of the South. The book deals with social development in the context of the political economy of both North and South Yemen and contrasts the old politics with the new (political parties, labor unions, and nationalism). The author shows the centrality of Egypt's military intervention in Yemen to regional politics and interprets Northern politics since Egypt's involvement primarily as a split between soldiers (pro-Egypt) and other political actors. In his view, therefore, the political fault line was not between extreme and moderate republicans, left or right or even social classes.

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