Three Steps Toward Political Stability in Haiti

Haiti has a plethora of problems. First, the country has a two hundred year history of political instability dating back to its beginnings as a French slave colony. It successfully fought for its independence, but thereafter it faced repeated foreign and imperialist interventions before acquiescing to a brutal dictatorship for much of the twentieth century. In 1991, Haiti adopted a semi-presidential system, but it has remained volatile. Twice the elected president has been exiled from the country under questionable circumstances. Today Haiti is the poorest nation in the Americas, with over half of the population living in abject poverty. The Corruption Perceptions Index recently ranked Haiti to be the twelfth most corrupt country in the world. More than two thirds of the labor force lacks formal employment. Haiti has a $1.5 billion trade deficit, larger than the government’s entire budget. And the commercial lending rate is the second highest in the world at 45%. If I were advising the Haitian government on how to move forward, I would advocate a three-step process by which they can bolster political stability. It includes measures to prevent corruption, make constitutional amendments to increase voter turnout, and forge stronger ties in Latin America. These reforms will lay the foundation for foreign investment and economic growth, thereby improving the quality of life for Haiti’s citizens.

The first goal should be reducing corruption in Haiti, the effect of which should not be underestimated. A 2000 study concluded that a 1% increase in corruption correlated with a .72% decrease in economic growth (Mo, 2001, p. 77). According to the author, “The most important channel through which corruption affects economic growth is political instability” (Mo, 2001, p. 66). Thus, in establishing political stability, reducing corruption is essential. To do this, Haiti should invite NGOs from around the world to monitor corruption in the country and publish reports with constructive policy recommendations. This should yield good ideas, and the NGO employees will require services that can help the Hatian economy. Moreover, the government can insist that NGOs hire Haitians for all of the design, construction, and maintenance of their facilities. Most helpful would be a stipulation that educated Haitians could shadow NGO administrators to learn public management, a tactic that could improve civil society in Haiti for the long term. In this way NGOs can monitor corruption while providing jobs and important knowledge to the community.

Of course, this reform requires that Haiti’s government be serious about fixing corruption. For these NGOs to be effective they must have autonomy to observe and publish what they wish, which could cause negative media attention and backlash against the government. However, the gains in transparency and accountability will pay dividends when both the country’s people and foreign investors believe the environment for everyday life and commerce is safe from corruption.

Haiti must also increase voter turnout, which in the 2006 legislative elections was only thirty percent. To increase this number, Haiti should consider a constitutional amendment to allow national referendums. Many European countries and states in the United States already use referendums. For example, in France the president can choose to pass legislation either through the National Assembly or through a national referendum process. In the United States, states that use referendums to decide policy average a 7% to 9% higher voter turn-out than states that do not have referendums (Tolbert, Grummel, & Smith, 2001, p. 643). Moreover, this gap increases over time, meaning that referendums lead to an increasingly engaged populace (Tolbert, Grummel, & Smith, 2001, p. 644). If such an amendment were passed in Haiti, national referendums could build trust between the citizens and the government, making more people directly involved with the political process and legitimizing the government.

Admittedly, the inclusion of national referendums comes with political risks. When French President Jacques Chirac unwisely used a national referendum for ratification of the European Union Constitution in 2005, it led to politically embarrassing results. Referendums in Haiti should only be used for legislation with highly predictable outcomes that will increase national unity and the visibility of the government. If used recklessly, a national referendum could easily give away to an unpredictable situation.

Finally, Haiti must protect against the outside interventions—most recently supported by the United States—which have plagued the nation’s stability and security for two hundred years. Importantly, the United States provides most of Haiti’s development aid and American consumers purchase 71% of Haiti’s exports (Central Intelligence Agency: The World Factbook). For this reason, Haiti cannot—and should not—attempt a “go-it-alone” development strategy. Rather, Haiti should continue the foreign policy of President Rene Preval that has built stronger economic and political ties with Venezuela and Cuba. This policy should be expanded to include a strong relationship with Brazil. Since 2004 the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti has been mainly composed of Brazilian soldiers and led by a Brazilian commander. Thus, Brazil has a standing relationship with Haiti to protect its population. Haiti should become a close ally with Brazil because of its economic power and geopolitical standing, which can serve as a counter-balance to Haiti’s economic dependence on the United States. Similar balancing act strategies are currently being applied in Eastern Europe, where countries like Poland and the Czechs Republic have sought NATO membership and military relationships with the United States to protect themselves from being at the mercy of Russia’s influence (Coyle & Samson, 2008, p. 11).

Even so, Haiti’s leaders should remain aware that this foreign policy can create tension. In balancing its relations with the United States by becoming closer with Brazil, Haiti should take heed of recent events in Georgia. Georgia has sought to counter its historical ties to Russia with candidacy in NATO and close partnerships with the United States. Of course last year this foreign policy contributed to their defeat in the South Ossetia War against Russia. In the case of Haiti, intervention by the United States is less likely as long as the country’s internal politics are stable. Nevertheless, Haiti’s government cannot forget that the vast majority of their development aid and trade comes from their powerful neighbor to the North.

Today Haiti faces more challenges than almost any nation in the world. The key to raising economic growth and improving the quality of life for Haiti’s people is ensuring political stability. This reform strategy outlines preventing corruption, adding a national referendums process, and expanding the foreign policy of Latin American integration. With these measures, Haiti’s government will be safer, and its people will be in a better position to improve their lives.