The Houthi rebels resistance against a coalition of regional and even far-off powers has only fueled their reputation, transforming them from a marginalised local group to an influential regional actor, Hafed Al-Ghwell writes.
Al-Ghwell noticed that in recent years, the Houthi movement has emerged as yet another prominent non-state actor in the Middle East & North Africa, particularly within Yemen.
In a recent analysis published by Euronews , Hafed Al-Ghwell from John Hopkins University concluded that the world needs to be careful in how it understands as well as interacts with the proliferation of non-state actors in the Middle East and North Africa by adopting strategies that go beyond kinetic military action.
Al-Ghwell noticed that the Houthis aactions have far-reaching implications, not only for the regional power balance but also for global trade and security.
He added “ By attacking this artery of global trade, Houthi attacks not only disrupt vital supply chains, they also test the resolve of the international community.
As non-state actors, the Houthis exert a level of influence that is difficult to ignore, having become a significant destabilising force near a major global trade artery, and an unstable Horn of Africa.
As part of Iran's Axis of Resistance, the group is now capable of conducting more sophisticated and unusually aggressive tactics, elevating concerns about further regional instability.
Houthi escalations in the Red Sea are the new reality of the 21st-century conflict — a world where unaccountable, unassailable non-state actors wield lethal influence in pursuit of narrow goals at the expense of all else.
· Hafed Al-Ghwell is a Senior Fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the SAIS Foreign Policy Institute, John Hopkins University.