Why humanitarian localisation stalls in conflict settings? Administrative vetoes and risk transfer in Yemen

Yemen’s humanitarian response operates under two competing administrative authorities whose permits and approval systems condition what localisation can mean in practice. Drawing on 15 interviews with local NGOs, international NGOs, UN agencies, and public authorities, this article examines how decision rights and operational risk are allocated across humanitarian partnerships. It argues that localisation in Yemen is constrained by two interacting mechanisms. First, polycentric administrative co-governance creates veto points through parallel approval systems that shape where aid can operate and under whose leadership. Second, risk-transfer lock-in produced through short grant cycles, low indirect cost recovery, demanding reporting requirements, and stringent audits shifts security and compliance burdens onto local NGOs while limiting investment in organisational capacity. As a result, partnerships cluster in tokenistic and delegated forms, and co-governed arrangements remain limited and locally led contracting rare. This paper concludes by identifying mechanism-aligned levers for reform.