Product Description

Riveting exposé of US-led destruction of democratic government in Haiti.

Once the most lucrative European colony in the Caribbean, Haiti has become one of the most divided and impoverished countries in the world. In the late 1980s a remarkable popular mobilization known as Lavalas, or "the flood," sought to liberate the island from decades of US-backed dictatorial rule. After winning a landslide election victory, in 1991 the Lavalas government, led by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was overthrown by a bloody military coup. Damming the Flood analyzes how and why Aristide's enemies in Haiti, the US and France instigated a second coup in 2004 to remove Aristide and Lavalas for good.

The elaborate international campaign to contain, discredit and then overthrow Lavalas at the start of the twenty-first century was perhaps the most successful act of imperial sabotage since the end of the Cold War. Its execution and its impact provide important lessons for those interested in today's political struggles in Latin America and the rest of the post-colonial world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #452706 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 488 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781844671069
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Review
"Hallward's stimulating book provides a new benchmark for all future debate in this field." - Paul Gilroy "This is an admirable book in every way, and it is hard to imagine how, as an introduction to a contemporary philosopher, it can be surpassed, so amazing are its range and depth." - Jean Jacques Lecerde"

About the Author
Peter Hallward is Professor of Modern European Philosophy at Middlesex University. He is the author of several books including Absolutely Postcolonial, Badiou: A Subject to Truth and Out of This World: Deleuze and the Philosophy of Creation.

Customer Reviews

Best Book on Haiti's Recent History
I read a lot of books on Haiti, this is the best one I have seen on Haiti's history between 1990 and 2005. Well-written and researched, with strong analysis. It is important for anyone interested in understanding Haiti today, but it is equally important for understanding current U.S. foreign policy. The excellent explanation of how the U.S. undermined and overthrew Haiti's democracy in 2004 applies to similar U.S. efforts in Venezuela over the last 8 years, and current efforts to undermine democracy in Bolivia.

The best book sofar to understand Haiti's recent History
This is a great book to understand Haiti's recent turmoils. Hallward like a real forensic scholar dive deep into the
complex events that have shaped Haiti's last 20 years of political ups and downs. The book is honnest and well written. Hallward tried to go beyond partisan politics. After reading this book it is easy to understand why Aristide failed Haiti a second time.

Outstanding
This is the finest political study I've read in years. Hallward presents an impressively insightful and revelatory examination of Haiti's grassroots democracy movement (mid 1980s-present), plus an expose of the numerous malicious forces fighting to prevent democracy and human rights in Haiti (e.g. powerful Haitian wealthy sector, Duvalierist holdovers, and the US State Department). In thoroughly-documented detail, Hallward corrects the fallacious and slanderous reputation that has been heaped upon Jean Bertrand Aristide by his many self-interested opponents. Hallward argues convincingly that JBA was driven from power, not because he was corrupt (as some critics alleged, without providing evidence), but, rather, because JBA's efforts to improve the lives of the Haitian poor presented too great a threat to numerous established interests. Hallward makes a compelling case that JBA's so-called "voluntary resignation" in 2004 can be better understood as forced, blackmailed, via the threat of mass-violence by a band of thugs with ties to the Haitian elite and the US State Department. Hallward provides evidence that, contrary to popular perceptions, JBA's Lavalas party governed responsibly and with great respect for human rights, whereas their opponents were guilty of human rights abuses on a massive scale. Though Hallward's tone is measured and credible, the book has a great moral clarity and shows that the US has abetted in a large-scale violation of human rights in Haiti. I enthusiastically recommend this book for those interested in modern Haitian history, and/or grassroots democracy movements, US foreign policy and neo-colonialism.