Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
sary), the Lome Convention (see Glossary), the International
Monetary Fund (see Glossary), and the World Trade Organization.
The Haitian diaspora, or Haitians living outside of Haiti, several
million strong and concentrated principally in South Florida,
New York, and other North American cities, has become
an important focus of Haitian foreign relations. Although Haitians
overseas are prohibited from voting in Haitian elections,
members of what is now referred to as Haiti's "Tenth Department"
play influential roles in the transfer of resources, knowledge,
and skills from their metropolitan base to the homeland.
Additionally, they play key roles in advocating policies toward
Haiti in Washington and Ottawa.
Haitians have been proud of their history, particularly the
accomplishments of such revolutionary figures as Jean-Jacques
Dessalines and Toussaint and, in more recent years, such figures
as Charlemagne Peralte, Jean-Marie Vincent, Francois Guy
Malary, and others who fought for freedom from foreign or
authoritarian rule. Haiti has suffered not only from its uniqueness
and from its similarity to other less developed nations, but
also from the abuse of its own leaders. Since the demise of the
Duvalier dictatorship, most Haitians have demonstrated a
strong desire for the reform of the systems of governance and
politics that have abused the country and its people. They
steadfastly clung to their commitment to democracy through
the shock of the 1991 coup and the repression and violence
that followed. Although Haiti can now count itself among the
democratic nations of the hemisphere, as it approaches the
twenty-first century the country and its leaders face the enormous
challenges of eschewing the past and completing reform
processes of government and politics that run contrary to the
country's history.
* * *
Among studies of Haiti's government and politics, two stand
out in providing the comprehensive historical framework
required for understanding contemporary issues: Haiti in the
World Economy: Class, Race, and Underdevelopment since 1 700, by
Alex Dupuy, and Haiti, State Against Nation: The Origins and Legacy
of Duvalierism, by Michel-Rolph Trouillot. The analysis of
politics and government in both of these works covers the
period up to, and including, the demise of the Duvalier dicta-
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