A panel on the Regional Power Struggle in Yemen took place in Ankara at the SETA Foundation yesterday. Within the light of the country's specific sociological context, main political actors, influence of regional countries and international communities and the latest developments in Yemen were discussed in the panel by Turkey's ambassador to Yemen Fazlı Çorman, Anadolu Agency war correspondent Samet Doğan and SETA foreign policy researcher Abdullah Yegin. With the revolution in 2011, after 33 years in power, then President Ali Abdullah Saleh stepped down and a transition period was announced. Due to the Houthi insurgency – also known as the Ansarullah movement – started in the first months of 2014, President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned in January 2015. The "Houthi coup" has led the country into a crisis of political authority. The transition process initiated by the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United Nations has come to an end.Making a general analysis of the course of events in Yemen since the Arab Spring, Çorman said that a different process was seen in Yemen as distinguished from other countries that had been influenced by the Arab Spring. He said: "Firstly, contrary to what is ordinarily seen in different Arab countries during the Arab Spring, the P5+1 [the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council in addition to Germany] found a middle ground in the 'Yemen Model.' The inclusion of the Gulf Cooperation Council to prevent Yemen from sliding into chaos is also another distinguishing factor for the Yemen case." Çorman also claimed that Houthis, who seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sept. 21 in a coup, lack the ability to govern the country in terms of public support and economy, and are only capable of populist discourse. Pointing to common sense and the culture of dialogue between the sides in a conflict as a distinguishing feature of Yemeni society from other Arab countries, Doğan said that the civilians that have been killed through U.S. drone attacks in Yemen triggered al-Qaida to unite and to consolidate its power. "This havoc has strengthened al-Qaida, however they are much more below expectations in terms of operations and activities in Yemen," he said. Remarking on their long-term opposition to the regime since the establishment of the republic in 1962, Yegin underlined the fact that although Houthis harbor local characteristics and dynamics within a social context, Iran's influence on them cannot be ignored. Yegin said: "It is having too much goodwill to say that Houthis represent a 100 percent local movement and Iran does not have an impact on Houthis. Reports either reveal Iran sending arms to Houthis or its foreign policy approach implicates that Iran will not leave Yemen alone. " He also said that Iran has this influence by ideologizing the affiliation of Houthis and the Zaydi sect in Shiite Islam.