Kepentingan Houthi Sebagai Non-State Actor dalam Penyerangan di Laut Merah Pada Tahun 2023

Abstract

The Houthi movement is an armed non-state actor that has played a significant role in conflict and security dynamics in the Middle East. In 2023, the Houthi movement launched attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea as a form of support for Palestine in the conflict with Israel. These actions affected not only the security of international shipping routes but also global trade stability, as the Red Sea is one of the world’s most strategic maritime routes. This thesis aims to analyze the interests of the Houthi movement as a non-state actor in conducting attacks in the Red Sea in 2023. This thesis applies a qualitative research method with library research as the data collection technique through the examination of various relevant literature concerning the Houthi movement, the Yemen conflict, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and security dynamics in the Red Sea. This thesis analyzes the collected data using the concepts of non-state actors and interests. The findings indicate that the attacks were driven by three main interests. First, ideological interests reflected in the Houthi movement’s support for Palestine and opposition to Israel and its allies. Second, political interests related to strengthening the group’s legitimacy and influence in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Third, strategic interests aimed at increasing the Houthi movement’s bargaining position through the utilization of the strategic geographical position of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which constitute vital routes for international trade. The thesis shows that the Houthi movement has evolved from a domestic insurgent group into a non-state actor capable of influencing regional and international trade. The thesis shows that the Houthi movement has evolved from a domestic insurgent group into a non-state actor capable of influencing regional and international security. This thesis concludes that the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea in 2023 were undertaken to advance the group’s ideological, political, and strategic interests as a non-state actor in the dynamics of conflict in the Middle East.