Religious Legitimation Through Securitization: Madkhalī Discourse, Ksrelief, and Saudi Strategy in Yemen

This article examines how the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen is normalized through a layered legitimation mechanism synthesizing religious securitization and humanitarian governance. It illustrates a functional division of labor: for domestic audiences, Madkhalī rhetoric sacralizes the conflict as a theological imperative to safeguard ontological security. Simultaneously, KSRelief operates as a reputational security zone projecting performance-based legitimacy to global audiences. By integrating securitization and legitimation theories, the study demonstrates how authoritarian statecraft systematically manufactures multi-layered legitimacy across sacred and secular registers to sustain controversial foreign policies.