Rethinking ‘new wars’: Continuity and hybrid warfare in Yemen’s 2014 civil war

The Yemeni civil war, which erupted in 2014 and soon escalated into a multilayered regional conflict, offers a critical lens through which to reassess the relevance of the ‘new wars’ paradigm. This study examines the extent to which the conflict reflects the key features of ‘new wars’, while also highlighting the limits of the framework. Drawing on qualitative analysis of secondary sources, the paper situates the Yemeni conflict at the intersection of post-Cold War transformations and historically embedded institutional trajectories. It argues that while the NWP captures important aspects of the conflict it tends to overstate rupture and underestimates the enduring role of state interests, territorial strategies, and path-dependent dynamics. By integrating a path-dependent and non-Eurocentric perspective, this study offers a more nuanced understanding of contemporary conflicts and extends the framework’s applicability beyond its traditional Eurocentric focus.