Malign Neglect: U.S. Policy toward Haiti under the Duvaliers

Abstract

Only twice in this century have events in Haiti held a high priority in Washington: in 1915, when the Haitian president’s torn body was paraded through the capital, Port-au-Prince, in the midst of chaos and prospects of European intervention; and in 1986, when the Duvalier regime fell. Following both the 1915 and 1986 crises, U.S. policy aimed at four objectives: restoring order, keeping other powers out, attending to acute problems of economic mismanagement, and planting the seeds of modern and democratic government in Haiti.