Keywords

deliberation; social capital; Haiti; dialogue; public deliberation; participatory-action research;

Abstract

Since the 2010 earthquake shook Haiti, there have been numerous calls for a national dialogue in the country to bring together all the parties involved in order to find solutions to Haiti’s woes. While several iterations of a national dialogue have been attempted in Haiti and abroad, more must be done to address the many social, economic, and political challenges that Haitians have faced for decades. As the situation worsens in the country, Haitians must unite to wrestle with the many issues they face and find common ground needed to rebuild a more democratic and resilient Haiti. Through a partnership with the Coalition for an Inclusive Dialogue in Haiti (The Coalition), this participatory-action dissertation explores how public deliberation and social capital can build a participant-generated framework for an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. Using deliberative mini publics, the Coalition aims to leverage the development of social capital to propose an inclusive dialogue framework that can build deliberative capacity among Haitians at home and abroad. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, deliberative forums, survey questionnaires, and focus groups, this dissertation offers several propositions on what factors can facilitate or hinder an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. Moreover, it offers insights into what a truly inclusive dialogue in Haiti could resemble. Finally, this participatory-action dissertation introduces an Inclusive Dialogue Framework, which includes the first dialogue, lakou conversations, intergroup dialogues, and citizen assemblies.

Since the 2010 earthquake shook Haiti, there have been numerous calls for a national dialogue in the country to bring together all the parties involved in order to find solutions to Haiti's woes. While several iterations of a national dialogue have been attempted in Haiti and abroad, more must be done to address the many social, economic, and political challenges that Haitians have faced for decades. As the situation worsens in the country, Haitians must unite to wrestle with the many issues they face and find common ground needed to rebuild a more democratic and resilient Haiti. Through a partnership with the Coalition for an Inclusive Dialogue in Haiti (The Coalition), this participatory-action dissertation explores how public deliberation and social capital can build a participant-generated framework for an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. Using deliberative mini publics, the Coalition aims to leverage the development of social capital to propose an inclusive dialogue framework that can build deliberative capacity among Haitians at home and abroad. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, deliberative forums, survey questionnaires, and focus groups, this dissertation offers several propositions on what factors can facilitate or hinder an inclusive dialogue in Haiti. Moreover, it offers insights into what a truly inclusive dialogue in Haiti could resemble. Finally, this participatory-action dissertation introduces an Inclusive Dialogue Framework, which includes the first dialogue, lakou conversations, intergroup dialogues, and citizen assemblies.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Bryer, Thomas

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

School of Public Administration

Degree Program

Public Affairs; Public Administration

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028339

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028339

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

May 2027

Length of Campus-only Access

3 years

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Campus-only Access)

Campus Location

UCF Downtown

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

Download

Restricted to the UCF community until May 2027; it will then be open access.

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