Why has Haiti been plagued by so many woes? Why have multiple U.S. efforts to create a stable democracy in Haiti failed so spectacularly? Philippe Girard answers these and other questions, examining how colonialism and slavery have left a legacy of racial tension, both within Haiti and internationally; Haitians remain deeply suspicious of white foriegners' motives, many of whom doubt Hatians' ability to govern themselves. He also examines how Haiti's current political instability is merely a continuation of political strife that began during the War of Independence (1791-1804). Finally, Girard explores poverty's devastating impact on contemporary Haiti and argues that Haitians--particularly home-grown dictators--bear a big share of the responsibility for their nation's troubles.
Philippe Girard was born in Guadeloupe in the French West Indies. He studied at Sciences Po in Paris and Ohio University and now teaches at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Girard has written three books on the history of Haiti. Clinton in Haiti (Palgrave 2004) uncovers the efforts by president-in-exile Jean-Bertrand Aristide to incite Bill Clinton to invade Haiti and restore him to power. Paradise Lost (Palgrave 2005) is a general history of Haiti from pre-Columbian times to the present that explains the historical roots of Haiti's current poverty; an expanded and updated paperback edition entitled Haiti: The Tumultuous History appeared in August 2010. Last but not least, The Slaves Who Defeated Napoleon (University of Alabama Press, November 2011) is an ambitious research monograph that retraces the fate of the expedition that Napoleon Bonaparte sent to Haiti in 1802 to overthrow Toussaint Louverture.
Visit Dr. Girard's blog at http://philippergirard.blogspot.com/.
