Checkpoint Fragments and Hierarchies: Competing regimes of circulation in wartime Yemen, 2015-2026
Roadblocks & Revenues Working Paper Series #15
This paper by Ibrahim Jalal examines how checkpoints shape wartime authority, trade and everyday movement along the Abyan–Aden–Lahej–al-Dhale’a–Dhamar corridor in Yemen. The paper compares two checkpoint regimes: a fragmented, decentralised system in Government of Yemen/STC-linked areas, where many armed actors impose overlapping fees, and a more centralised, digitised Houthi system, where customs and taxation are organised through fewer but more formalised nodes. In both cases, truckers and traders face coercive payments, delays and uncertainty, while ordinary consumers pay higher prices. By following the corridor and the experiences of transporters, the paper shows that control over movement has become central to Yemen’s war economy, state fragmentation and prospects for peace.
This paper is the 15th in a working paper series on Roadblocks and Revenues, a collaboration between the Danish Institute for International Studies, the International Centre for Tax and Development and the Centre on Armed Groups.
