The Haitian Revolution-War of Independence and the Formation of Modern International Relations: A Postcolonial Perspective of Uneven and Combined Development Theory

Abstract The Haitian state shaped international definitions of sovereignty and national legitimacy after the Declaration of Independence in 1804. Haiti’s nineteenth century was not a period of isolation and decline; its first six decades were globally connected because the country’s leaders challenged their postcolonial inequality with diplomacy and state formation. This strategy aimed to establish Haiti’s membership in the “family of nations,” a central metaphor in European and American diplomatic, legal, and religious decision-making. In doing so, the Haitian state forced the Atlantic powers to redefine the boundaries of international relations. Haiti’s decades-long negotiations with the Catholic Church were tied to the racialization of the global hierarchy. After its Declaration of Independence, the Haitian state began clearing a theoretical path toward recognized sovereignty based on the dominant narrative that a society must be considered “civilized” on the world stage. But, as it cultivated internal policies and practices that rejected the dominant racist assumptions, these discriminatory ideologies became increasingly more explicit in international law.

Download Full-text

Interpreting the Haitian Revolution

10.1093/oso/9780197535622.003.0002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 23-46

Author(s):

Alexander D. Barder

Keyword(s):

International Relations ◽

Intellectual History ◽

Haitian Revolution ◽

Racial Violence ◽

Western Hemisphere ◽

French Colonialism ◽

Racial Hierarchy ◽

The Haitian Revolution

Long relegated to the margins of history in the study of international relations, the Haitian Revolution of 1791–1804 should be considered of paramount importance for understanding the emergence of a global racial imaginary of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The consequences of the liquidation of slavery and French colonialism on the island were felt throughout the western hemisphere and constituted a perpetual source of anxiety about the possibilities of racial rebellion. This chapter examines the intellectual effects of the Haitian Revolution in order to demonstrate the crystallization of a global racial hierarchy. This global racial hierarchy took for granted the ineluctable supremacy of “white” Western Europeans and Americans but was, nonetheless, deeply anxious about the possibilities of its future demise. A key element in this intellectual history, examined in this chapter, is the idea of racial violence or war that is used to interpret the events of the Haitian Revolution.

Download Full-text

Conclusion

Who Owns Haiti? ◽

10.5744/florida/9780813062266.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Robert Maguire ◽

Scott Freeman ◽

Nicholas Johnson

Keyword(s):

International Relations ◽

Well Being ◽

Haitian Revolution ◽

International Community ◽

Subsequent Evolution ◽

The Haitian Revolution ◽

Interpersonal Level ◽

The Way

This concluding chapter considers concepts fundamental to the ‘idea’ of Haiti as rooted in the Haitian revolution and the subsequent evolution of the independent nation. The analysis emanates from a dialogue at the end of a May 2014 symposium on Haitian sovereignty conducted among all panellists. Perspectives of sovereignty and ownership described in the volume contemplate international relations not only on a larger scale, but on an interpersonal level as well. Specifically, concepts of ‘honor’ and ‘respect’ that are present in Haitian greetings are contrasted to the way in which the international community ‘uses’ Haiti. By considering issues of participation and the actually existing needs of Haiti and Haitians, it is argued that the logic of respecting Haiti and Haitians, and their sovereignty as a people and a nation, has often been either absent or under assault. Honor and respect of Haiti and its people, however, are critically necessary elements for their future well-being, now more than ever.

Download Full-text

Beyond Visible Entanglements: Connected Histories of the International

International Studies Review ◽

10.1093/isr/viaa029 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 289-306

Author(s):

Zeynep Gulsah Capan

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

International Relations ◽

Final Section ◽

Focal Point ◽

Haitian Revolution ◽

Alternative Framework ◽

The Third ◽

The Social ◽

The Haitian Revolution ◽

Definition Of

Abstract How to write non-Eurocentric histories has long been a concern in the humanities and the social sciences. Attempts at writing non-Eurocentric histories of the international have been trapped in an absence/presence dichotomy and made making present what was absented from the story of the international their main focal point. The article aims to contribute to these discussions through pointing to the limitations of existing approaches that focus on revealing entanglements and offering an alternative framework for writing “connected histories of the international.” The article will proceed in four sections. The first section will provide a definition of Eurocentrism and elaborate on the way in which writing “connected histories” was offered as a solution. The second section will discuss how Eurocentric narratives have been critiqued within history and International Relations through “entangled narratives.” The third section will introduce the notion of “abyssal lines” and underline how the focus on entanglements has impoverished our understanding of Eurocentrism and the solutions on offer. The final section will illustrate the alternative framework being proposed for writing connected histories of the international (co-present and coeval narratives) that underlines the locations and times of progress and change through a discussion of the Haitian Revolution.

Download Full-text