Martha Mundy

Martha Mundy is a professor emerita of anthropology at the London School of Economics. She began her research career in northern Yemen (1973-77), then taught in Jordan, Lebanon, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 2011-12, she returned to Yemen to work with agronomists on agrarian transformation. Since the start of the war in 2015, she has examined the impact of policy and war on Yemen’s rural society and food systems, including authoring the report “The Strategies of the Coalition in the Yemen War” (World Peace Foundation, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 2018). She is a contributor to the Observatory.

October 20, 2026

Columns/Geopolitics

Europe’s Refugee Crisis: Merkel’s Humanitarian Gamble

The then German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the floodgates to refugees from underdeveloped and Muslim-majority countries, allowing them to enter Germany in the name of humanitarian policy. At that time, several well-meaning

Columns/Geopolitics

India: LoC Infiltration Attempts Persist

Indian security forces have foiled at least ten infiltration attempts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in 2026, killing nine terrorists in five incidents, according to partial SATP data. Although official figures indicate a sustained decline in

October 20, 2026

Baloch Insurgency Intensifies as BRG Escalates Attacks

Columns/Geopolitics

The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) have sharply escalated their operations in 2026, with at least 23 security personnel killed in six BRG-linked incidents, according

The Indian Ocean’s Security Partnerships: When Cooperation Becomes Dependence

Sri Lanka Guardian Essays

For Sri Lanka, maritime security is not an abstract geopolitical concern. The island’s location near major shipping routes creates opportunities for trade, fisheries, and

Yemen’s Socotra Archipelago: The UAE’s Occupation and Destruction of a World Heritage Site

November 29, 2023

History

Environmental destruction entails two intertwined processes: climate change and the destruction of biodiversity, which mutually reinforce each other. Both are human-caused. Climate change is not the lead driver of biodiversity loss; it is

Why the United Arab Emirates Is a Poor Choice for a Global Climate Summit

November 23, 2023

Columns

It is no joke; the man who will preside over the upcoming climate summit, COP28 (which will take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from November 30 to December 12), is the chief oil