Failing to Respond: Yemen’s Humanitarian Crisis and the Role of the West

This thesis examines the ongoing humanitarian crises in Yemen and seeks to determine if key western powers have any responsibility towards the former. Yemen is currently facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, which shows no signs of easing. A postcolonial lens is adopted in order to scrutinise the role that key western powers have played in causing these crises and how they are currently failing to fulfil their obligations towards Yemen. The influence of ‘Orientalism’ on the West’s treatment and attitude toward Yemen is emphasised. The role of individual states as well as an array of international organisations is assessed in order to determine whether they have a responsibility to end these humanitarian crises and how it would be best for them to achieve this. A case study approach is adopted and models of political responsibility are applied throughout. The long-term effects of colonialism and ‘Orientalist’ policies and attitudes towards Yemen have resulted in the current humanitarian crises. Analysis shows that individual states that have historically and contemporarily benefited as a result of the suffering of Yemeni people are responsible for the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Yemen and have a duty to end this suffering