While the Houthi group consistently portrays the "blockade" as the sole explanation for Yemen's humanitarian and economic crisis, accumulating evidence over more than a decade of conflict indicates a significant portion of the current catastrophe stems from another, equally dangerous factor: the dismantling of national institutions that formed the backbone of the Yemeni state.
Nations do not collapse solely from wars and military strikes, but rather when they lose their unifying institutions and their capacity to uniformly manage their citizens' affairs. This is precisely what transpired in Yemen after the Houthi group seized state institutions in Sana'a in 2014. Numerous sovereign and service institutions transformed from national assets serving all Yemenis into instruments subservient to the de facto authority, employed to advance a specific political and military agenda.
Over the years, Yemen has faced not just a military conflict, but a state in institutional decay, with its functions fragmented among competing authorities. This has directly impacted the economy, education, essential services, and the future of millions of Yemenis. The destruction of institutions has been a more profound and lasting blow than external pressures.
The Central Bank of Yemen, once a pillar of economic stability, managing monetary policy across all governorates and overseeing the banking system with reserves estimated at five billion dollars by the end of 2014, suffered unprecedented strain and depletion under Houthi control. Expedient use of reserves during wartime, coupled with the division, eroded a critical defense line for the Yemeni economy, leading to currency devaluation, soaring prices, and diminished purchasing power. This financial and banking schism created dual monetary systems, engendering economic distortions and banking complexities that crippled trade and investment.
Education, the soul and future of a nation, also suffered. Yemen's unified educational system and national curricula were altered in Houthi-controlled areas. Textbooks were revised, with content related to national identity, republicanism, and political history being reshaped, alongside the introduction of ideological and sectarian material. Educators warn that this curricula shift cultivates generations receiving divergent narratives on history, statehood, citizenship, and national belonging. The persistent crisis of teacher salaries and the decline in educational quality have further widened the gap between students in government-controlled areas and those under Houthi influence, fostering a cognitive and cultural divide that threatens the unity of national identity for future generations.
In modern warfare, control over information is as crucial as territorial control. The telecommunications sector, with its critical infrastructure based in Sana'a, became a key area for Houthi dominance, granting them significant leverage in a sensitive and profitable industry. The Yemeni government accuses the Houthis of utilizing this sector for security surveillance, monitoring communications, restricting digital content, and financing their operations. Consequently, the government has been compelled to develop alternative infrastructure in Aden, creating institutional duplication in a sector that once symbolized Yemeni state unity. Telecommunications, thus, transformed from a bridge connecting Yemenis into another manifestation of the existing division.
Civil aviation has not been spared. The prolonged closure of Sana'a Airport, multiple decision-making centers, and the complexities of international flight operations have weakened a vital sector that served as Yemen's primary window to the world. Yemen Airways incurred substantial losses due to administrative and operational division, including the grounding and eventual destruction of several aircraft at Sana'a Airport. This loss extended beyond the air fleet to operational sovereignty and the capacity for unified air transport management. Travel has become more tied to political and military disputes than to the professional and technical standards governing the global aviation industry.
These examples underscore the profound transformation of the Yemeni state during the war years. The Central Bank is no longer a unified institution, education no longer carries a singular national message, telecommunications is not a public utility for all Yemenis, and civil aviation does not operate within a cohesive national system. These developments were not mere byproducts of war but a gradual dismantling of institutions that previously linked Yemenis and managed their affairs within a single state framework. Observers argue that reducing the Yemeni crisis to the "blockade" narrative ignores a fundamental aspect: the institutional collapse resulting from policies of division and the imposition of de facto rule.
After more than a decade of war, the reality is stark: Yemen has lost not only its financial reserves or parts of its public services but also the very institutions that underpinned its modern state. The most destructive "blockade" was the one imposed on the state's institutions themselves, through their dismantling, weakening, and transformation from unifying national entities into instruments serving narrow political and military agendas. Therefore, any serious discussion about salvaging Yemen must extend beyond addressing the economic and humanitarian impacts of the war to rebuilding national institutions and restoring their unifying role, which is the true guarantee of state unity, societal stability, and the future of coming generations. While states can recover from wars, institutional collapse requires many years to overcome, a challenge Yemen confronts more acutely than ever.
