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Fernando Carvajal

School: College of Social Sciences and International Studies
Research Centre/Unit: Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies

PhD Project Summary

Currently conducting field work in Yemen on : The Construction of Political Subjects in Imamic Upper Yemen.

My research looks at the theretical principles driving poltiical relations in the early 20th Century between Centers of Power in Yemen (Imams and Triabl Shaykhs) and its practicle implementation as expressed in contracts, letters and poetry. The aim is to analyze and reinterpret documents which shed light into the dynamics of Imamic politics under the last Zaydi Imam's, al-Mutawakkil Yahya and al-Nasser Ahmed Hamid al-Din.

This work also aims to contribute to the understanding of Yemeni politics, and its historical foundations, within the modern process of Democratization in a United Yemen. The work hopes to deliver a better understanding of the evolution of political processes which describe the history from loyal subjectivity to a religious leader or tribal leadership to the revolutionary era of Arab Nationalism and its own foundation for the relationship between ruler and rule, to the establishment of a Democracy in the Arabian Peninsula and the obstacles for constructive, pro-active citizenship.

Supervisory Team

Primary Supervisor

Prof. Gerd Nonneman

Second Supervisor:

Dr. James Onley

Wider Research Interests

A wider understanding of the evolution of political processes which describe the history from loyal subjectivity to a religious leader or tribal leadership to the revolutionary era of Arab Nationalism and its own foundation for the relationship between ruler and rule, to the establishment of a Democracy in the Arabian Peninsula and the obstacles for constructive, pro-active citizenship in the Arab World.