The Tale of a Feud: Domination, Resistance, and Agency in Highland Yemen

This book chronicles the life and times of tribal leader Mujahid Ḥaydar, scion of a prominent local dynasty, and his agency in highland Yemen's political conflicts from the 1970s to the early 2000s. When the political elites of the Ṣaliḥ regime murder his father and his elder brothers, he is forced to exact revenge and lead his tribe through dramatic vicissitudes that culminate in the catastrophe of the Ḥuthi wars. Mujahid's life is a story of ongoing strife, heroism, resistance, commitment to the defence of honour, loss, and exile. His biography offers nuanced and original insights into how tribal politics in Yemen influence the domain of the state and are often intertwined with it - such that neither can be comprehended independently from the other.