RED-SEA SECURITY AND THE GEOPOLITICAL-ECONOMY OF THE HANISH ISLANDS DISPUTE

This paper examines the global, regional and national geopolitical and economic dimensions of the Eritrea-Yemen conflict over the Hanish Isl ands, and the implications of this conflict for security in the southe rn Red Sea region. For Eritrea and Yemen this dispute is about control over maritime resources. For strategic and economic reasons, external powers have been drawn into the conflict, as have northern Red Sea st ates, thereby complicating the de-escalation process. While Eritrea an d Yemen have submitted this dispute to international arbitration, the conflict has apparently produced a consensus that enables France to ac t as the 'guardian' of the southern Red Sea region.