Can Haiti fashion a true representative government out of a volatile failed state?
Read this week’s briefing (below) to learn about the historical, economic, and political roots of Haiti’s authoritarian tradition. Haiti’s Authoritarian Tradition Robert Fatton, Jr. To understand Haiti’s history — only ten of its 48 presidents have served out their terms and there have been only two peaceful electoral transitions since the beginning of the republic over 200 years ago — it is critical to look at the material and historical circumstances of the colonial period. The country’s authoritarian tradition is rooted in the legacies of French colonialism and the plantation economy. Based on slavery, this economy created a real dilemma for Haiti’s early leaders, a dilemma that was never resolved satisfactorily. 1492 Christopher Columbus lands on Hispaniola, establishing the first European settlement in the Americas on what is now Haiti’s northern coast. 1692 Spain cedes western Santo Domingo to France; the new colony becomes known as Haiti. 1801 After leading an uprising, former
