Peacebuilding from below vs. the liberal peace: the case of Haiti

Justice and rule of law failure in Haiti: A view from the Shanties

“…One might add that this top‐down approach has given rise to reform interventions with performance indicators employing metrics that reinforce donors’ own terms and vision for achieving “success” (Andersen, ; Jensen, ; Larzillière, ; Rivard Piché, ). In Haiti, the security dimension that characterizes the state‐centric approach of judicial reform emphasizes a top‐down donor‐driven governmentality of bodies with (sporadic) investments in security forces, judicial powers, and secure internment that maintain an unjust sociopolitical status quo, all wrapped within a corrupt and authoritarian political system in crisis for more than three decades (Baranyi, ; Berg, ; Donais, ; Donais & Knorr, ; Dupuy, ; Gélineau & Zeichmeister, ; Hauge, ; Hauge et al, ; Marcelin, ; Rivard Piché, ; Seitenfus, ; Walby and Monaghan, ).…”

“…Likewise, Shamsie () highlighted how, after the Haiti earthquake in January 12, 2010, international donors’ security and development nexus approach overshadowed investment in the country's agricultural sector. In 2017, food security, according to the World Food Programme (), “Haiti has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in the world: more than half of its total population is chronically undernourished and 22% of children are chronically malnourished.” For additional discussion on security‐development nexus and international presence in Haiti see Andreas et al (2013), Gordon (), Baranyi (), Donais (), Donais and Burt (), Donais and Knorr (), and McCandless and Abu‐Nimer ().…”

“…In Haiti, the security dimension that characterizes the state-centric approach of judicial reform emphasizes a top-down donor-driven governmentality of bodies with (sporadic) investments in security forces, judicial powers, and secure internment that maintain an unjust sociopolitical status quo, all wrapped within a corrupt and authoritarian political system in crisis for more than three decades (Baranyi, 2019;Berg, 2013;Donais, 2015;Donais & Knorr, 2013;Dupuy, 2005;Gélineau & Zeichmeister, 2016;Hauge, 2018;Hauge et al, 2015;Marcelin, 2012;Rivard Piché, 2017;Seitenfus, 2011;Walby and Monaghan, 2011).…”

Security Sector Reform, Statebuilding and Local Ownership: Securing the State or its People?

“…The security sector is often perceived as representing 'the defining element of modern statehood' (Benedix and Stanley 2008, 97) and SSR is often central to statebuilding efforts, as has been seen in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone, for instance (Jackson 2011). However, as with statebuilding, the focus of SSR is often on building state institutions with less regard for building relationships between the people and the state (Andersen 2012;Donais and Knorr 2013;Jackson 2010Jackson , 2011. In Iraq, for instance, the US helped construct state institutions that were alien to the local population and at odds with the political, cultural and historical context, contributing little to the development of an organic relationship between the state and its people, and little public support for the state (Jackson 2010).…”

“…For instance, establishing or supporting community safety initiatives across many communities in many places recovering from conflict would be very resource intensive (see Donais and Knorr 2013;Donnelly, Nikolla, Poudel and Chakraborty 2013). There can also often be practical, security and cultural challenges for international organisations to engage with actors at the community level, particularly in the initial stages (Donnelly, Nikolla, Poudel and Chakraborty 2013;Lawrence 2012).…”