 For many Yemenis, tribal systems are “the main or only administrative system they know.” Tribes function effectively as local governments, introducing generators and water pumps, opening schools, and providing local services.Thus, for many “the state is not representative of the Yemeni nation to which they feel they belong.”

The Yemeni revolution, also part of the Arab Spring, was brought about by the loss of legitimacy by Saleh's regime.Yemeni youth wanted Saleh's resignation and “a more accountable and democratic system.” Though reform came slowly due to a lack of support from the international community and the poverty of the protestors – Yemen is the Arab world's poorest country – the anti-Saleh movement gained steam and high-level government officials and tribal leaders joined the opposition against Saleh.