Dr Sarah Phillips
Sarah Phillips specialises in governance and reform in Yemen and the Middle East, political party development, political Islam, and the dynamics of patronage networks. Her recent book analyses the nature of changes to Yemen's power structures, political dynamics and institutions since the intention to democratise was announced in 1990.
She is currently looking at political and security developments in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa, and the relationship between tribes and militant jihadi networks in fragile states.
Recent Publications
Phillips S “Yemen” in Ellen Lust-Okar (ed.) The Middle East (Washington, DC: Sage Publishers, 2010, forthcoming).
Phillips S “Politics in a Vacuum: The Yemeni Opposition’s Dilemma” Middle East Institute, Viewpoints, No. 11, June 2009.
Phillips S Yemen's Democracy Experiment in Regional Perspective: Patronage and Pluralized Authoritarianism (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
Phillips S "Yemen: The Centrality of Process," Beyond the Façade: Political Reform in the Arab World (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2008) p. 231-60.
Phillips S "Evaluating Political Reform in Yemen,"Carnegie Papers: Democracy and Rule of Law Project, No. 80, February 2007.
Phillips S "Yemen: Opposition Hopes to Gain in Elections by Government Mistakes," Arab Reform Bulletin, Vol. 4, 7, September 2006.
Phillips S "Foreboding About the Future in Yemen," Middle East Report Online, 3 April 2006.
Phillips S "Yemen: Economic and Political Deterioration," Arab Reform Bulletin, Vol. 3, 7, September 2005.
Phillips S "Cracks in the Yemeni System," Middle East Report, 28 July 2005.
Selected Conferences and Guest Lectures
“Yemen’s Postcards from the Edge: al-Qa’ida, Tribes and Nervous Neighbours” Australian Political Science Association, Sydney, September 2009.
“Tribes and Militants in the Arab World” Pak Institute for Peace Studies, Islamabad (Pakistan), August 2009.
“Will the Tribes Trump the Jihadis? Observations from Yemen, Iraq and Somalia” The Economics and Politics of War and Peace, Sydney, June 2009.
“Yemen on the Brink: Implications for Regional Stability” Australian Institute of International Affairs, Canberra, April 2009.
“JMP Opposition Coalition Dynamics” Current Developments in Yemen, United States State Department, Washington D.C., August 2009.
“Mobilising Party Members and Constituents before the Elections.” Original political party training seminar series for the National Democratic Institute,Yemen, July-August 2008.
“Democracy and the Rule of Law” Original political party training seminar series for the National Democratic Institute, Yemen, February-May 2008.
“Embracing the Coalition Concept, Original political party training seminar series for the National Democratic Institute, November 2007, Yemen.
“Yemen’s Critical Juncture” Seminar for United States State Department Critical Language Studies, Yemen, August 2009.
“Democratisation and the Persistence of Authoritarianism in Yemen” Middle East Studies Association, Boston, November 2006.