Considered the region’s most fragile nation, Haiti has endured decades of violence, extreme poverty, rampant infectious disease, political instability, and natural disaster. An insurgency forced democratically-elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to flee the country in 2004, leaving behind civil unrest and inducing Canada’s second intervention in 10 years.
As a part of the Weak and Fragile States theme, CIGI has worked to engage decision-makers, policy experts and academics in helping Haitians with the task of building a functioning state and society. The Haiti Project explores Canada’s role in achieving stability for the island nation as well as the feasibility of a “3-D” approach – Canada’s approach used in Afghanistan to coordinate defence, development and diplomacy in foreign policy.
To further explore this model, CIGI hosted the November 2005 conference, “Canada in Haiti: Considering the 3-D Approach,” which analyzed the possibilities and problems of its implementation in Haiti. Six months after the conference, CIGI released the book, Haiti: Hope for a Fragile State, edited by Yasmine Shamsie and Andrew S. Thompson. This study of contemporary Haiti sheds light on the varied and complex roots of the current crisis, dispels misperceptions, and suggests that the situation in the region is not without promise. CIGI has also developed or sponsored a number of other initiatives on Haiti, including a number of relevant op-eds.