As the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, announced the launch of the operation "Dawn of Yemen," an old article came to mind that the American thinker Francis Fukuyama wrote in The Atlantic in 2004 on state-building. What struck me in it was the importance of moving from achieving stability to building institutions able to stand on their own feet and bear their responsibilities. I see that idea present in the challenge the Yemeni government faces today. The operation launched with the support of the Saudi-led coalition offers an opportunity to recover the state, not merely to recover territory. That requires the military advance to be accompanied by political work that unites the ranks of the legitimate authorities, wins the trust of Yemenis in the areas under Houthi control, and mobilizes international support for recovering the state and extending its authority.
The Houthi militias represent only a very small proportion of Yemen's population, but over the past years they exploited the divisions among the forces gathered under the umbrella of legitimacy and their competition for influence, which allowed them to widen their influence and control and weakened the capacity to confront them coherently. The government's responsibility therefore begins with uniting these forces around the project of recovering the state, and with addressing the multiplicity of decision-making centers and the divergence of priorities, so that their disagreements are not carried over into the administration of the recovered areas. Here the importance of restoring the momentum of the comprehensive National Dialogue and building on its outcomes stands out, as a basis for narrowing differences and organizing political partnership under the authority of the state.
The dialogue that began in 2013 brought together all the representatives of the political forces and the components of Yemeni society, and allowed the foundations of the state, the system of government, and rights and freedoms to be discussed with full transparency. The United Nations envoy at the time announced agreement on more than 90 percent of its outcomes, before the Houthi coup disrupted the course of the political transition and the implementation of those outcomes. The government can therefore rest on these understandings to narrow differences and address political demands through negotiation and participation, and to entrench commitment to the authority of the state and the unity of its decision-making. Disagreement over the future of government and the distribution of power and wealth should find its way to dialogue and political competition under the roof of the state and its constitutional institutions. The more the government succeeds in establishing this rule, the narrower the space the Houthis can exploit, and the greater Yemenis' confidence in the state's ability to accommodate their differences and protect their interests.
The call for a "safe return" announced by the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council comes as a gateway to uniting the national ranks, winning the trust of the population in the areas under Houthi control, and giving them the opportunity to return to their families and to civilian life. This call will acquire high credibility if the executive procedures relating to the "safe return" decision are accelerated once its constitutional and legal course is complete. Protecting the population and their property, preventing prosecution on the basis of regional or sectarian affiliation, confining accountability to individual responsibility under the law, and providing basic services will undoubtedly strengthen confidence in the government and give the "safe return" call greater credibility.
The Yemeni citizen, worn down by years of war, wants no more than to feel secure about his family and his livelihood, and to find strong institutions that protect his rights and guarantee him justice. When a citizen feels that his living conditions have improved and that the law is applied to everyone, his confidence in the state will grow stronger and he will feel assured about his future and his children's. As that confidence takes hold, the Houthis' capacity to frighten the population and tie their fate to the group's survival recedes, and popular support for the return of the state's institutions widens.
Internationally, high-level diplomatic movement is of great importance in addressing the international and regional community. Security Council Resolution 2216 and the subsequent resolutions on Yemen are the foundation and the frame of reference for this effort, given what they contain by way of demanding that the Houthis withdraw from the areas they seized, hand over the weapons they took from the military and security institutions, and cease exercising the prerogatives of the legitimate government, alongside the resumption of negotiations to reach a consensual political solution. This calls for intensified communication with the United Nations and the influential capitals to turn political endorsement into practical support, including support for implementing the international resolutions, limiting the flow of weapons to the group, and helping the government restore services and revive the economy.
The clearer the government's commitments and priorities, the greater its ability to persuade partners that supporting it will lead to sustainable stability. And the link between Yemen's stability and the region's security and international navigation gives it a basis for demanding wider participation in shouldering the burden, support for Saudi efforts, and funding for recovery and reconstruction. In this way international support becomes a factor helping the Yemeni state establish its presence and meet its responsibilities toward its citizens.
The most important challenge remains that "Dawn of Yemen" should open the way to ending the cycle of conflict that has exhausted the country. The features of the coming phase are taking shape now, and the decisions the government takes during the operation will leave their mark on the chances for peace afterward. Thinking about the day after is therefore a responsibility that begins today. The years of war have left divisions, grievances, and interests bound up with its continuation, and these are challenges that need addressing so that they do not become the causes of a new round of fighting. What is required is that these sacrifices lead to a peace Yemenis can maintain, and that those worn down by war find an opportunity to return to their lives and build their future. Then "Dawn of Yemen" may lay the foundation for a phase in which Yemen recovers its capacity to rise, and emerges from the spiral of recurring wars.
