S3E34: Violent Gangs and Predatory Republics - From Haiti to Africa

“Is Haiti a Failed State?” I asked Dr. Robert Fatton. In the News: Haiti Gangs Destroying Civil Society!

Our guest, Dr. Fatton, laments the near-total collapse of society in his homeland. In this episode, we uncover the history behind the following:

• Haiti's gangs & vigilante groups
• Abolishing Haiti's military & ineffective police force
• History of foreign intervention (e.g., Hillary & Bill Clinton)
• What happened to democracy in Haiti? 
• Is Haiti a "failed state"? 
• Haiti is a "zero-sum" society.  
• Comparing Haiti to African countries - predatory republics.   

This episode is essentially the continuation of my 2021 conversation with Dr. Fatton, during which he shared the history of Haiti from its bloody but glorious founding to the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moïse. You can listen to that episode here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S1E23s.

About HbN's Guest Scholar:

Dr. Fatton is the Julia A. Cooper Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. He is also a former chair of that department as well as a former associate dean of the Graduate School there. In 2011, he received the Award for Excellence of the Haitian Studies Association for his “commitment and contribution to the emerging field of Haitian Studies for close to a quarter of a century.” To learn more about Dr. Fatton, you can visit his academic homepage: https://politics.virginia.edu/people/profile/rf/

Dr. Fatton is the author of the following books, some of which we discuss in this episode and also back in 2021 (see below): 

On Haiti: Haiti’s Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy (2002); The Roots of Haitian Despotism (2007); and Haiti: Trapped in the Outer Periphery (2014); The Guise of Exceptionalism: Unmasking the National Narratives of Haiti and the United States (2021).  

On Africa: Black Consciousness in South Africa (1986); The Making of a Liberal Democracy: Senegal’s Passive Revolution, 1975-1985 (1987); Predatory Rule: State and Civil Society in Africa (1992). 

Others: Dr. Fatton is also co-editor with R. K. Ramazani of The Future of Liberal Democracy: Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World (2004); and Religion, State, and Society (2009). 

You May Also Be Interested In The Following History:

After the 2021 earthquake, I spoke to Dr. Mark Schuller about the role of NGOs in Haiti. While celebrity visitors to Haiti, such as Bill Clinton, George Clooney, and Sean Penn, brought much attention and millions of dollars to that country, how NGOs changed Haiti's society, culture and economy is complicated. Let's just put it this way: not all good intentions end well! You can listen to my conversation with Dr. Schuller here: https://bit.ly/HbN-S1E32s.

I hope you enjoy these episodes.

Adel

Host of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠History Behind News⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ podcast

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