This dissertation investigates the social dynamics of political and social life in the Yemeni province of Hadramawt, focusing specifically on Wadi Hadramawt. This location is known for the strong presence of the sada social class which comprises the religious elite and which, through the use of land control and deployment of implicit and explicit violence, often by proxy, dominates this valley. By unbundling the various strategies used by whole social classes or tribes and families within them, the dissertation identifies the tools deployed in securing a favourable social position in the context of three competing systems of governance – state, religious and tribal.

The first section of the dissertation focuses on the most powerful tool, the ownership and control of land. By controlling land and entering into share-cropping agreements, the sada can easily influence the behaviour of the public under the implicit threat of being allocated a less fertile piece of land, thus severely decreasing the harvest and putting one at risk of falling into poverty. The tribes then use the control of land both as a basis of their identity and a way of securing a living and influence for themselves. By facilitating smuggling through their territory, they can earn significant amounts of cash, but more crucially they are likely to be seen as an entity worthy of being incorporated into the state - sponsored patronage system.

While the sada possess access to sources of funds and the tribes’ control of territory is based on armed capability, both of these classes rely on legitimacy and the signalling of their status in order to subjugate the population and avoid violence and potential revolts. To this end, a number of social norms are observed which serve to maintain the status quo through relatively peaceful means, although always under the implicit threat of violence. These include a strict observance of the kafa’a, a concept of marital equivalence which is designed to keep the Prophet’s bloodlines pure and extend to the cultural and intellectual arenas, which are a part of the public relations machine indoctrinating the Hadrami population.

The efforts extended by the sada would be complicated without the support they receive from the diaspora. By remaining a coherent and cooperative group, the sada have managed to increase their influence and maintain a strong link between the homeland and the diasporic destinations. These links allow them to survive at times of peril, as was the period of Marxist rule between 1967 and 1991, and to withstand other less severe crises. In contrast to the behaviour of the sada in the diaspora stand the actions of the other social groups which, due to differing incentives, tend to disassociate from their kinship groups in the homeland and thus weaken them.

The last two sections of the dissertation focus on the changing role of the tribes, their post-Marxist revival and the involvement of armed nonstate groups in governance. These armed nonstate groups, most notably Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, have found a utility in the political landscape of Yemen and their local perception reflects this as it significantly differs from the international one. As such, the group’s takeover of the Hadrami towns of Mukalla and Al Shihr between 2015 and 2016 was not seen as disastrous by the local population and the organization appears to have considered itself to be a legitimate sovereign ruler. The dissertation concludes by exploring the possibility of effective governance by a militant nonstate group and whether this might constitute a fourth pillar of governance in Yemen.