Until very recently, only Mauritania among the Arab countries attracted less attention in the British media than Yemen. Not any more: since 25 December 2009, Yemen is mentioned more than any other Arab country except Iraq, with the subsequent month seeing greater media interest than the entire previous year. This study looks at British media portrayals of Yemen.

Broadly speaking, the country is seen through the prism of terrorist threat, suggesting that it is only Al Qaeda in its international dimension that makes Yemen of any interest to Western audiences.