Challenging the Norms of Warfare: Historical Perspectives from Yemen and Iraq

The Middle East is a region that is very often defined by two characteristics: uniqueness and conflict. Its myriad peoples, belief systems, cultures and histories have made the Middle East a truly unique place at the nexus of the East and West. However, these differences have also fueled some of the world’s most persistent and intense periods of extended conflict. Just as the region defies what some might define as “normalcy,” so too have its conflicts.

In the fifth iteration of the Global Middle East Seminar series, founded by the Woodrow Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program and Bilkent University’s Center for Russian Studies, renowned historian, Joseph Sassoon, and Wilson Center Fellow, Asher Orkaby, sit down with Michael Brill, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University, to discuss the nature of warfare in the Middle East using two notable examples, Yemen and Iraq. Both of these countries have and are experiencing complex, brutal conflicts featuring numerous instances of incredible violence and the use of chemical weapons on soldiers as well as civilians. But why, and how have these conflicts developed, and what can we learn from them?