Haiti: New Terms of Engagement?

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On February 7th, 2007, Stewart Patrick spoke on a panel at an event sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace entitled “Haiti: No Longer a Failed State?” In his remarks, he offers reflections from his recent visit to Haiti and addresses four main points:

• The marginal utility of describing Haiti as a “Failed State”
• The inter-relationship among the main sets of challenges facing Haiti: (a) Security and the Rule of Law; (b) Institutions of Governance; (c) Development, including growth and social welfare
• The need for donors to end their dysfunctional approach to Haiti, which has kept it a dependent ward of the international community, by embracing state building.
• The transnational spillovers resulting from Haiti’s endemic state weakness, notably the reciprocal relationship between (a) drug trafficking and (b) Haiti’s insecurity, dysfunctional governance and stalled development.