The chapters in this book are based on papers that were originally presented to a panel on the future of Yemen as part of the Gulf Research Center's annual conference held in Cambridge in August 2014. They were selected for this book (then provisionally entitled Yemen to 2020) in late 2014, and the final drafts were completed by February 28, 2015. During this period, the tumultuous changes described in this introduction were taking place: the extraordinary advance of the Huthis who, with the assistance of military units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, took over Sanaa in September 2014 and expanded from there to take control of or move into other parts of Yemen; the resignation of President Abd Rabbuh Hadi on January 22, 2015; the Huthis taking power in a coup on February 6; the escape of Hadi to Aden on February 21 and his resumption of the presidency; a military advance by the Huthi-Saleh alliance on Aden in March, provoking Hadi into requesting external military intervention and leaving to Riyadh. On March 26, 2015, Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states (except Oman), as well as Egypt and several other countries, launched Operation Decisive Storm with logistical and intelligence support from the US and the clear acquiescence of other leading states.

At the time of writing (end April 2015), it appears that the air campaign, the naval blockade, and the fighting on the ground have degraded the military capacity of the Huthi- Saleh alliance but failed to halt their advance. The political objective of the campaign was to force the Huthis to negotiate and persuade them that they had much more to gain by working with other political forces in Yemen than by using violence against them. All Yemenis – and the international community – will have to face the consequences of the conflict, which greatly exacerbated Yemen's already dire humanitarian problems, severely damaged infrastructure and the economy, and led to hundreds of deaths; many more were injured and over 150,000 were displaced by the end of April 2015. When the fighting ends there will be an urgent need not only to reconstruct what has been destroyed but to build an inclusive and stable government that can, with international support, enable Yemen to develop the full potential of its people and resources.