Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

Yemen is the poorest state in the Middle East and has been in conflict during the larger part of the century. Today the country suffers from the biggest humanitarian crisis in modern history, which is a consequence of a war that took off after the Arab Spring. The causes of the war have been presented trough different narratives which claims that the war is a "proxy war" between Saudi Arabia and Iran, or as a war between Sunni and Shia Muslims, or as a consequence of Al-Qaida's extension. This study challenges these narratives and gives another explanation, which takes several aspects into account when explaining the war's causes.

This study strives to answer the question "what are the causes of the war in Yemen?" and does so by using the theory of states and nations by Benjamin Miller, and by using three levels: local, regional and global. The study concludes that the war can be explained through Miller's theory of State-to-Nation Balance, due to that the state Yemen is missing a nation, and due to that groups within the state does not identify with the state. The study also discusses the impact of Iran, Saudi Arabia and USA, but it also questions Miller's concept of a nation and the adequacy of using it when studying clans and tribes.