Who Owns Haiti?: People, Power, and Sovereignty

Although Haiti established its independence in 1804, external actors such as the United States, the United Nations, and non-profits have wielded considerable influence throughout its history. Especially in the aftermath of the Duvalier regime and the 2010 earthquake, continual imperial interventions have time and again threatened its sovereignty.

Who Owns Haiti? explores the role of international actors in the country’s sovereign affairs while highlighting the ways in which Haitians continually enact their own independence on economic, political, and cultural levels. This volume addresses how Haitian institutions, grassroots organizations, and individuals respond to and resist external influence, considering assertions of sovereignty from historically marginalized urban and rural populations. Contributors from a variety of disciplinary perspectives–including political science, anthropology, history, economics, and development studies–argue that varying discussions of ownership are central to Haiti’s future as a sovereign state.

Contributors: Laurent Dubois – Robert Fatton Jr. – Scott Freeman – Nicholas Johnson – Chelsey Kivland – Robert Maguire – Francois Pierre-Louis Jr. – Karen Richman – Ricardo Seitenfus – Amy Wilentz