What is it about?
Tribes are seen as natural constituents of Middle Eastern societies. This is a mistaken perspective. As I show how the state actively participates in the consolidation of tribes for its political purposes. This is illustrated through a historical narrative of how and why tribes were created by the state in the Republic of Yemen's Soqotra Island.
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Why is it important?
This article shows why it is important to retire the prevailing perspective among scholars about the intrinsic tribal nature of the Middle East (or more accurately West Asia) region.
Perspectives
I hope this article will convince readers that traditional-looking places like Yemen and Soqotra are actively engaged in adapting to the modern world and are not static societies.
Serge D Elie
Independent Scholar
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Clans, Tribes, and State in Soqotra: A Conjunctural Narrative of Polity Formation in an Indigenous Community, November 2025, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004744332_004.
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