The Houthis managed to invade the capital of Yemen in 2014. During the preceding decades, the Houthis had turned from a religious student organization into a political and military organization and...Show moreThe Houthis managed to invade the capital of Yemen in 2014. During the preceding decades, the Houthis had turned from a religious student organization into a political and military organization and gone though six wars against the government. Reasons for their success have been argued to be their popular support and adaptability in identity construction, while the role of framing in the mobilization process has also been studied. This research ties these explanations together by means of the tripartite leadership capital theory by Nepstad and Bob, and shows how the components of the theory, namely, cultural, social, and symbolic capital helped the Houthi leadership in gaining support. This research shows that the symbolic capital of the Houthi movement is not attributed to one person but rather the family. In addition, this research examines the opponents of the Houthis and shows that leadership capital also partially explains why certain individuals supported the Houthis and others did not. Furthermore, this research critically assesses the role of the Houthi leadership in the mobilization process during the wars and shows that the role of leadership shifted when the conflict escalated, as many individuals joined the fight with Houthis for reasons completely unrelated to the leadership.Show less
