Haiti is a radically
polarized place, leading some to speak of “quantitative”
versus “qualitative” majorities[1]: the former being poor, destitute and politically impotent, and the latter rich,
cosmopolitan and politically dominant.
There is a third group: the Haitian Diaspora. It sends over $US2 billion per year to the country in the form of person to person transfers and it could play a role in reconciling factions in an economy that is “disjointed and dominated”[2]. But there is a cost.
An influential Diaspora also has the potential to undermine democracy. Why should people who left the country for better prospects get to direct it from the comfort of their adopted homes?
So the question is how to maximize the contribution of the Diaspora without it overstepping the principles of representative democracy.
