NEW DELHI — After ordering the arrest of the chief justice, several opposition members, a former president (who also happens to be his half brother) and a few other political opponents, Abdulla Yameen, president of the island nation of the Maldives, essentially said: It’s the other guys’ fault.

“I was forced into this situation,” Mr. Yameen said in a televised address on Tuesday, his first public statement after casting the Maldives into turmoil. “I declared the state of emergency because there was no way to hold these justices accountable.”

Lying off on its own in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is known for a few things: its sparkling seas, its gorgeous marine life, its spectacular island resorts and, above all, its tranquillity.

But in the past week, all anyone has been talking about is the escalating crisis between Mr. Yameen on one side and the Supreme Court and the political opposition on the other. How did we get here?