Email: scarapic@richmond.edu

For Sheila Carapico's telephone number, please contact the MERIP office at +1-202-223-3677. Media only.

Carapico commented: In combating al-Huthi rebels in the north and disaffected populations in the south, Sana'a has violated many international human rights standards, for instance by placing civilians in the line of fire, denying relief to tens of thousands of displaced persons and harassing or shutting down independent newspapers. Some Yemenis and Yemen-watchers are concerned that framing the country's problems in terms of terrorist threats and the risks of state failure amount to a rationale for bolstering a police state. I hope the US doesn't provide assistance to create a more effective military dictatorship.”

Sheila Carapico is professor of political science and international studies at the University of Richmond and the American University in Cairo. A contributing editor to Middle East Report, Carapico is also the author of Civil Society in Yemen: The Political Economy of Activism in Modern Arabia (1998) and numerous articles and book chapters on Yemeni politics and society