When Yemenis realize that the project of a unified national state is not an interest for one group over another, but an existential necessity for all without exception, the path towards just peace and sustainable stability will become clearer, and the future, no matter how distant it seems today, will become closer than many think.

I believe it is not difficult for an observer to notice the complexity surrounding the Yemeni issue, but what is more difficult in my estimation is realizing that this complexity should not lead to despair but rather prompt a rethinking of the real sources of strength latent within society itself.

Please note with me that major human experiences teach us that states are built not only by the resources they possess or the external support they receive, but by their ability to turn diversity into a unifying energy and disagreement into a space for understanding.

Yemen, despite the wars, crises, and divisions it has endured, still in my view retains in its social and cultural depth a significant stock of potential that qualifies it to restore its balance once the appropriate conditions and a national will capable of unifying efforts around a comprehensive project that transcends narrow calculations towards the horizon of a state that accommodates all its citizens are available.

From this truth, mentioned above, stems the importance of the internal front as the primary condition for any viable national project. In fact, this is indisputable.

Note with me that any forces in any country in the world that are divided by differences and drained by internal conflicts will not be able to present themselves as carriers of a stable future, even if they receive political or military support from abroad. That is because external support, no matter how important, remains in my estimation a facilitating factor, not a substitute for national cohesion.

Modern political history is full of examples confirming that societies that succeeded in overcoming their crises did not do so because others decided to save them, but because they first managed to reorganize themselves and build a minimum consensus around their major goals.

In the Yemeni case, this truth appears to me more clearly, because the challenge at hand is not just managing an ordinary or transient crisis, but restoring the idea of the state itself as a common framework for the public interest.

If we assume that the internal factor represents the core of the solution, that does not mean downplaying the impact of the regional and international environment, which has contributed to varying degrees in shaping the course of the crisis. Yemen, by virtue of its geographical location and strategic importance, has always been, and still is, part of a vast network of interests and interactions that transcend its national borders.

However, a careful reading of the path of the past years reveals that the multiplicity of external actors did not necessarily lead to the production of a unified vision for the country's future; rather, the divergence of priorities and approaches often made reaching a stable and lasting formula extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible.

Therefore, the real bet in my belief should not be on external agreements alone, but on the ability of Yemenis themselves to turn any regional or international opportunity into a coherent national project that derives its legitimacy from within before anything else.

This awareness becomes more important when we remember that the Yemeni crisis did not begin with the recent war, nor did it arise suddenly as a result of a single political event, but is an extension of long accumulations whose roots go back to decades of divisions and conflicts that were not resolved on solid national foundations. Successive phases of political, social, tribal, sectarian, and regional competition have occurred, and many previous settlements succeeded in stopping the conflict without successfully addressing its deep causes.

For this reason, the need today seems greater than ever for a rational, realistic approach that looks to the future with an eye conscious of the past, not to dwell on old wounds, but to understand and overcome them so that they do not continue to produce the same crises in new forms.

Therefore, real peace, from this perspective explained above, cannot be reduced to political agreements or security arrangements alone, despite the importance and necessity of those measures. Sustainable peace is, in essence, a process of rebuilding trust between components of society, redefining the relationship between the citizen and the state, and restoring the national space damaged by years of conflict.

Thus, the success of any future political path will remain linked to its ability to address the Yemeni citizen first, and make him feel that he is a partner in the future, not merely a recipient of outcomes of understandings concluded by elites. States, in my view, become stable when their citizens feel they are part of their project, not when they are asked to merely watch its course from afar.

The deep value of the concept of "national will" becomes clear here as the starting point towards any positive transformation. Will is a collective ability to prioritize the public interest over immediate interests, and to view the state as a shared responsibility rather than an arena for competition over spoils.

In this context, the declaration of the transfer of power issued on April 7, 2022, gains special importance, not only in terms of its political texts, but also in terms of its spirit, which sought to provide a broader framework for consensus and joint action. The real value of any national document lies not only in the words it contains, but in its ability to transform into a political practice that enhances partnership and opens the door for building trust between various parties.

From this point, precisely, emerges the battle to restore the state as a battle of awareness as much as it is a battle of institutions and procedures. The state in its deep meaning is not merely an authority that manages public affairs, but a system of values based on the concepts of "rule of law," "equal citizenship," and "shared responsibility." When this system is shaken, the primary challenge in my estimation becomes restoring the idea it is based on before rebuilding its material structures.

Therefore, success in restoring the state is measured not only by reclaiming territory or institutions, but also by the community's ability to restore its confidence in the concept of the state itself as the sole guarantor for managing diversity, protecting rights, and achieving stability.

If "awareness" represents the first battlefield, then "managing differences" wisely represents the most important test for the success of the national project. Living societies are not measured by the absence of differences within them, but by their ability to organize those differences within common rules that prevent them from turning into existential conflicts.

Yemen possesses social, cultural, and political diversity that can become a great source of strength if handled with the mentality of a state rather than the mentality of narrow alignment. Every successful national experience has been based, in essence, on recognizing plurality and turning it into an element of enrichment, not a cause for division.

Read more

The Houthis as an example... Religious extremist groups trying to control the future

Saudi support for Yemen... Maintaining the foundations upon which people's lives are based

How can we move from the logic of conflict in Yemen to the logic of partnership?

On the crisis of political discourse in Yemen

Thus, the political wisdom required today is not to seek a completely homogeneous society, but to build a national contract that allows everyone to participate in shaping the future without exclusion or domination.