Abstract

Deye mo-n se mo-n is a proverb in Haiti that roughly translates to "Beyond the mountains, more mountains." This saying holds a deep meaning to the Haitian peoples, who have lived through unrelenting violence and poverty. In its 200 years of independence, Haiti's inhabitants have seldom known a decade without political violence. Like the chain of mountains, political violence in Haiti seems to go on forever with no end in sight. Not only are the devastating effects of violence felt within politics, but also in the economic and social sectors of the country. The collapse of these sectors has created a predatory democracy which fails to provide for the population but rather enriches political elites who fight for the control of power and ignore their civic duties. The result of the political infighting, corruption, and weak governance has left Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. A recent conflict which continues to have negative effects in the country is the 1991 military coup d'etat. The source of the coup was the political classes' constant fight for the control of power. The consequences of the coup are the collapse of the sectors previously mentioned. This has led to a country's struggle to reestablish functioning political, economic, and social institutions. Through secondary literary sources, online journals, and biographies, the causes and negative effects of the coup will be explored in hopes of illustrating the overall proximate and underlying causes of political violence in Haiti. This research will eventually lead to the exploration of different institutional reforms which needs to be enforced to break the cycle of violence.

Notes

If this is your Honors thesis, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Thesis Completion

2012

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Vasquez, Paul

Degree

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Degree Program

International and Global Studies

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences;Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

Format

PDF

Identifier

CFH0004301

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

Download

Share

COinS