History of Haitian Nationality and Citizenship - United States Occupation

United States Occupation

Until 1915, Haiti followed an isolationist policy. However, in 1915 the United States invaded Haiti and kept occupation until 1934. During this time, interest in Haitian nationality broadened to embrace the rural majority's "black" culture. A Haitian historical society was founded in 1924, with a focus on their history through the "Black Slave Rebellion" narrative of the Haitian Revolution. Louverture and Dessalines became "great slave revolutionaries", showing the world the power of colonized peoples.

"By the 1970s…had begun to think of their homeland in terms that transcended mere nostalgic attachment to a particular outpost of empire. The new… nationalism precipitates strong tensions between conservative and radical elements within local intelligentsias. Here too, the Haitian experience of the early 1900s, with its armed conflict…Finally, the accelerated urbanization and migration experienced in Haiti, which resulted from the centralizing tendencies of the state, import-dependency, and the extreme exploitation of labor, …trends in the global economy created the impetus for a massive population exodus after World War II."

Since the US occupation, Haiti has been unable to establish an independent civilian police force as an entity separate from the army. Every attempt to do so has resulted in a military overthrow of the presidency.

Haitian Civil-Military Relations:

• Military control for the protection of the state against foreign invaders
• Military control for the management of a crisis
• Civilian control through the demilitarization of the nation
• Civilian control through the professionalization of the army
• Civilian control through the co-optation of the arm
• Civilian control through the democratization of the army