Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State

By Wilfrid Laurier University Press

“This book...avoids the political debates about Jean-Bertrand Aristide that dominate so many current writings about Haiti. Its focus is the society itself, the sources of difference, the origins of violence, and the possibility of change....The superb work done by the editors has established a high standard for future efforts.” (Terry Copp and John English from the Preface)

Haiti is a country in the midst of a political, economic, ecological, and social crisis. Violence has sabotaged attempts to establish the rule of law, and state infrastructure is notably absent in much of the country, leading to an overall climate of insecurity. Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State sheds light on the varied and complex roots of the current crisis, dispels misperceptions, and suggests that the situation in Haiti, despite evidence to the contrary, is not completely desperate. It brings together diverse perspectives on development, the military, history, NGOs, and politics and discusses the peace-building efforts of the past, suggesting ways to move forward to make Haiti a strong state.

Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Release date: Apr 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9781554587841

Book preview

HAITI Hope for a Fragile State

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) was founded in 2001 to provide solutions to pressing governance challenges. CIGI strives to build ideas for global change through world-class research and dialogue with practitioners, which provide a basis for advising decision-makers on the character and desired reforms of multilateral governance. CIGI’s purpose is to conduct research of international significance, and to strengthen the intellectual capacity to understand and propose innovative solutions to global challenges. For more information please visit www.cigionline.org.

HAITI Hope for a Fragile State

YASMINE SHAMSIE and

ANDREW S. THOMPSON, editors

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the financial support of the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

Haiti: hope for a fragile state / Yasmine Shamsie and Andrew S. Thompson, editors.

Papers originally presented at the conference Canada in Haiti, held at the Centre for

International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Ont., Nov. 4, 2005.

Includes bibliographical references.

Includes conclusion in French.

ISBN-13: 978-0-88920-510-9

ISBN-10: 0-88920-510-8

1. Haiti—Politics and government—1986—Congresses. 2. Haiti—Economic conditions— 1971—Congresses. 3. Haiti—Foreign relations—Congresses. I. Shamsie, Yasmine II. Thompson, Andrew S. (Andrew Stuart), 1975– III. Centre for International Governance Innovation

F1928.2.H295 2006        972.94        C2006-901597-X

© 2006 The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)

Cover design by P.J.Woodland. Text design by Catharine Bonas-Taylor.

Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.

Printed in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

This book is dedicated to all who refuse to believe

that Haiti is beyond hope.

Contents

Preface

Terry Copp and John English

Acknowledgements

List of Acronyms

Introduction—Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State

Yasmine Shamsie and Andrew S. Thompson

THE CURRENT AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

1 The Fall of Aristide and Haiti’s Current Predicament

Robert Fatton, Jr.

2 Assisting a Neighbour: Haiti’s Challenge to North American Policy-Makers

Robert Maguire

3 The Economic Dimension of Peacebuilding in Haiti: Drawing on the Past to Reflect on the Present

Yasmine Shamsie

JUSTICE AND SECURITY

4 Haiti’s Tenuous Human Rights Climate

Andrew S. Thompson

5 Reflections on the Situation in Haiti and the Ongoing UN Mission

Col. Jacques Morneau

BUILDING HAITI THROUGH CIVIL SOCIETY

6 The Role of the Private Sector and the Diaspora in Rebuilding Haiti

Carlo Dade

7 Dissonant Voices: Northern NGO and Haitian Partner Perspectives on the Future of Haiti

Jim Hodgson

Conclusion—La difficile sortie d’une longue transition

Suzy Castor

Notes on the Contributors

Preface

This study of contemporary Haiti, ably edited by Yasmine Shamsie and Andrew Thompson, derives from a conference on Haiti as a fragile state held at the Centre for International Governance Innovation(CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The sponsors were CIGI, the Centre for Foreign Policy at the University of Waterloo, the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), and the Academic Centre for United Nations Studies (ACUNS). The last two institutions are associated with Wilfrid Laurier University whose press has published this book with remarkable speed and professionalism.

The Haiti conference followed an earlier conference on Afghanistan that explored the Canadian experience in those two troubled countries. We began with the premise that the current Canadian emphasis on the so-called three Ds—development, democracy, and diplomacy—required detailed examination in specific cases of Canadian involvement in fragile states. To that end we sought to combine groups who do not normally conference together but who have had direct experience on the ground. We therefore invited donor agencies and the many non-governmental organizations (NGOS) who know those agencies so well. We asked leading academics to comment on the historical, social, and political evolution of the countries. We also asked the Canadian military which has taken part in missions to Haiti several times over the last generation and which has more recently undertaken major missions to Afghanistan. We believe that the blend of the three Ds has given our conferences a distinct quality.

This book reflects that distinctiveness in that it avoids the political debates about Jean-Bertrand Aristide that dominate so many conferences and current writings about Haiti. Its focus is the society itself, the sources of difference, the origins of violence, and the possibility of change. The authors know Haiti well, whether as residents, academic analysts, non-governmental activists, and, not least, soldiers who tried to establish the stability that has proven so elusive. We were particularly impressed by the military contribution to the conference and book because we believe it offers a perspective seldom shared with a broader audience or reflected in the media.

The editors are optimistic about Haiti’s future despite the abundant evidence of the fragility of the Haitian state. The authors similarly possess hope as well as many fears. CIGI and the LCMSDS are working to extend our analyses of what makes states fragile and what response international institutions and national governments should make to the challenge that fragility presents to international peace and stability. We intend to hold conferences and publish similar papers dealing with other states as well as the general question of what puts states at risk. The superb work done by the editors of this book and the talented conference organizer Katherine Sage-Hayes has established a high standard for our future efforts. We commend them for their excellence.

Terry Copp

John English

Acknowledgements

Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State is the product of a conference on Canada’s current 3-D (defence, development, and diplomacy) engagement in Haiti, that took place in Waterloo, Canada, in early November 2005. As with any edited volume, this book would not have been possible without the help and support of a number of individuals and organizations.

We would like extend our thanks to Stephen Edgar for agreeing to display his wonderful photographs of Haiti at the conference.

To Patricia Goff, president of the Waterloo Region Branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA), we offer thanks for organizing Robert Fatton, Jr.’s keynote address to the CIIA.

At the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Foreign Policy (CFP), we would like to thank Geoffrey Hayes for co-sponsoring and assisting with the facilitation of the conference.

At the Academic Council on the United Nations Systems (ACUNS), we would like to thank Alistair Edgar and his staff for helping to organize many of the logistical aspects of the conference. Special thanks go to Katherine Sage Hayes who, with the help of two student volunteers, Keren Gottfried and Stefanie McKinnon, worked tirelessly to see that all participants were looked after and that the conference was a success.

To Terry Copp and his staff at the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies (LCMSDS), we would like to extend our gratitude for not only proposing the idea of a conference on Haiti in the first place but also for helping to shape the agenda and for securing funding for the conference. On this note, we would like to acknowledge the generous support that we received for the conference from the Canadian Department of National Defence Strategic Defence Fund.

Special thanks are in order for John English and the staff at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). It was Dr. English who suggested that the conference papers be turned into a book; it was his support and encouragement that made this suggestion a reality.

To Dan Latendre and his staff at IGLOO, especially Juanita Metzger, thank you for producing HaitiConnect, the digital research portal that will allow academics, practitioners and non-governmental organizations to access, share and disseminate their research on Haiti.

Brian Henderson, Jacqueline Larson, Clare Hitchens, and Carroll Klein at Wilfrid Laurier University Press also deserve special praise for going to great lengths to accommodate our request to expedite the book’s release.

Finally, we would like to thank all of the authors who contributed to the book. As we’re sure all who read the book will find, their insights into the current challenges that Haiti must overcome are invaluable.

List of Acronyms

Introduction

Haiti

Hope for a Fragile State

YASMINE SHAMSIE

ANDREW S. THOMPSON

In his book Collapse, the American biologist/ecologist Jared Diamond ends his chapter on Haiti and the Dominican Republic by asking whether there is any hope for Haiti.¹ Although pessimistic, it is, unfortunately, a fair question. At present, Haiti is a divided country in the midst of a political, economic, ecological, and social crisis. HIV/AIDS rates are among the highest in the Western hemisphere. Violence, bolstered by the prevalence of thousands of small arms in the hands of both state and non-state actors, has sabotaged attempts to establish the rule of law, leading to an overall climate of insecurity. The transitional government lacked popular legitimacy, and state infrastructure is notably absent in much of the country, particularly in the rural areas. In sum, Haiti is—by most measures—a fragile state.

This book is the outcome of a highly successful conference that took place in Waterloo, Canada, in November 2005.² The impetus for the conference was the Haitian insurgency of February 2004 that forced President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee the country, precipitating the establishment of a transitional government and prompting members of the international community to intervene militarily for the second time in ten years. The primary purpose of the conference was to discuss how Haiti, with the assistance of the international community, might shed its current distinction as one of the world’s failing states. Understandably, the tone of the conference was largely one of pessimism. The challenges that Haiti must overcome are formidable, and there is considerable evidence to suggest that the commitment of outside actors to the tiny island nation will be fleeting.

Nonetheless, the purpose of this book is not to reinforce the popular notion that Haiti is, to quote Diamond, the modern New World’s saddest basket case.³ Rather, the aims of the contributors are more ambitious, although perhaps counterintuitive. On one level, they are to shed light on the varied and complex roots of the current crisis, dispel misperceptions, and offer possible recommendations for moving forward. Perhaps more importantly, however, the contributors to this volume suggest that the situation in Haiti, despite evidence to the contrary, is not completely desperate. Without question, the task of building a functioning society is a daunting one, as Haiti’s immediate future appears bleak and full of peril. Its long-term story has yet to be written, however, and it would premature to write Haiti off as a nation beyond repair. Although the odds seem stacked against Haiti, there is reason to be hopeful.

Haiti as a Fragile State

In 1996, in the wake of three-year military coup d’état that interrupted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s first term in office in the early 1990s, Jean-Germain Gros dubbed Haiti an anaemic failed state, his assessment being that the state was so emaciated that its archaic structures and institutions provided the government with little control over the country.⁴ Given the turmoil that followed the coup, his metaphor was not inappropriate. Even so, when assessing states that have either ceased to function altogether or have been plagued by high levels of violence, terminology matters. The most common adjectives found in the academic literature used to describe these states include failed, collapsed, and fourth world states, as well as failing, fragile, and weak states. Although these terms are used to describe similar conditions and ailments—often interchangeably—the distinctions are important, and act as more than an exercise in semantics. Not only are these adjectives vague and open-ended but how they are employed—and to which states they are applied—is a subjective exercise. Subjectivity is evident in the selection of indicators used to measure a state’s functionality and the degree of dysfunction to which a state is believed to have descended. Relying again on a medical metaphor, how