While ruling over two-thirds of Yemen’s population, specifics of the leadership model of the Ansarullah movement—better known as the Houthis—are rarely discussed. To experts familiar with the topic, the way the group governs is essentially a hybrid between two different theocratic systems.

The first derives from the ancestors of the Houthis; the Zaydi Imams, a Shiite Islamic school of thought that governed Yemen for centuries. One central pillar of Zaydism is that the spiritual leader of Muslims must be a Hashemite, or a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad. The second source of inspiration is a cornerstone of contemporary Shiite political thought known as Wilayat Al-Faqih or...