Democratization in Haiti: US Intervention- Friend or Foe?

1. Democratization in Haiti: US Intervention- Friend or Foe?

2. Haiti in Brief: 2007 1. In size Haiti is about the same of Maryland2. Capital – Port–au–Prince3. Population – 8.5 million4. Ethnic groups: African descent 95%, African and European descent 5%.5. Adult Literacy - 56%6. Government – Republic, Constitution March 1987 7. Ranked by Freedom House as “Not Free” Source: US State Department Online Country Profile

3. Haitian History in 60 Seconds • First a Spanish, then a French Colony • Considered the ONLY successful slave rebellion • Declared Independence January 1, 1804 • Power struggle throughout the 19th Century • First US Intervention 1915- Progressive Period • Occupation Ends 1934 • US Instilled minority non-blacks in power • 1957-1986, Duvalier Regime- ‘Papa Doc’ and ‘Baby Doc’ • Military junta in interim • Governor’s Island Accords • Jean-Bertrand Aristide became president in 1991 in ‘fair’ elections • Bertrand thrown out of office by military coup • All this eventually sets the scene for the 1994 US- Led Military Intervention in Haiti.

4. Why did we intervene in Haiti in 1994? “The reasons for intervention are to protect our interests, to stop the brutal atrocities that threaten thousands of Haitians, to secure our borders, and to preserve stability and promote democracy in our hemisphere, and to uphold the reliability of the commitments we make and others make to us.” -President William J. Clinton, 1994

5. Democratization “A democracy is a compound of institutions of a modern state and institutions of mass participation and representation.”* -Richard Rose and Doh Chull Shin *Rose, Richard, and Doh Chull Shin. "Democratization Backwards: The Problem of Third-Wave Democracies." British Journal of Political Science 31(2001): 331-354.

6. Democratization • Authoritarianism -> Democracy • Freedom ≠ Democracy • “third wave” countries • Negative global trends in democratization? • Democratic Institutions

7. Democratization Factors • Economy • Education Levels • Culture • Geography • Society • Foreign Intervention

8. Economic Development vs. Probability of Democracy

9. The Democratic Peace Theory • What is it? • The Democratic Peace theory is the idea that two democratic nations will not go to war with each other. This is based on historical evidence that no two democracies have ever gone to war with one another. • Why is this flawed?

10. Haiti and the Democratic Peace • An overarching reason for intervention in Haiti stemmed from the overall concept of Democratic Peace Theory- Haiti Remains one of the few ‘not free’ nations in our hemisphere • Haiti also remains one of the poorest nations in the world, yet is less than 100 miles from the Southern Tip of Florida. • Does Haiti’s geographic proximity to the US have any bearing on our right or duty to bring democracy to them?

11. Democracy Index In 2006, The Economist did a study of how countries ranked democratically. Methodology: Total of 60 questions were asked about each country. Answers were graded with a 1, .5 (if applicable), or 0. The points were added up and then countries were ranked. *Hybrid Regime #Full Democracy $Authoritarian Regime Source: The Economist (2007) www.economist.com/media/pdf/DEMOCRACY_INDEX_2007_v3.pdf

12. Debunking the Myth of Democracy: Countries Claiming to be Democracies Red- governments that do not claim to be democratic. Blue- governments that claim to be democratic. Source: Wikipedia

13. US National Interest • 1992 Bill H.R. 5267, Section I states: • The Congress finds that-- • (1) the Haitian refugee crisis is growing and warrants an expanded United States response; • (2) Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected President of Haiti in a landslide victory on December 16, 1990, in the first free and fair election in Haiti's 186 year history; and • (3) the unconstitutional seizure of power by the Haitian military is repugnant to all democratic nations, and represents an affront to all who believe in democracy.

15. Realist Versus Liberal • The Liberal case for intervention: Democratic Peace theory, Humanitarian reasons • The Realist case for intervention: US self-interest based not on a Haitian Human rights crisis but on an American Refugee crisis

16. So, which one is it?

17. What happened? • The 1994 Intervention is widely considered a FAILED intervention. • The UN placed the blame on Haiti itself. • US left no lasting plan for stabilization • The US went in for its own national interests, once these were secured, why continue to invest time and troops? • What other factors contributed to this?

18. Failure to Democratize Haiti • Blamed primarily on society. i.e. “balance of class forces” • American occupation hindered democracy. • Problems with resource distribution. Haiti too poor for democracy? • Failure to establish democratic institutions.

19. Haiti since the 1994 Intervention • Aristide out of office in 2004 • Controversial subsequent elections • Haiti remains ‘not free’ • Remains one of the world’s poorest states • Ongoing problem- 3rd Intervention • Questions surround Aristide’s exit from office.

20. Democracy Still Possible? “I cannot predict the survival of Democracy in Haiti … It is not yet clear whether democratic institutions survive in Haiti without foreign military support.”* *Vanhanen, Tatu . Prospects of Democracy: A Study of 172 Countries. New York, NY: Routledge, 1997.

21. Parallels between Haiti and Iraq • Interventions on the basis of human rights abuse • Historical Racial Divisions • Gender Division • Lack of a long term plan • Application of the Democratic Peace Theory • “To protect US interests” Oil, Proximity, Reputation?

22. Democratization and the Status Quo • Democratization is destabilizing. • Any time you shift the form of government, it obviously changes the status quo- • Does this not destabilize?

23. Democra-do’s and Don’ts