Since the pullback of the international assistance mission in 2017 followed by the assassination of its president in 2021, Haiti has suffered from a crisis of governance that has opened the space for criminal — but politically aligned — gangs to take over much of the country. USIP offers technical and secretariat support to national dialogue processes that will lead to a functional transitional government and guide the country to elections. It also works with experts to develop innovative security planning for Haiti that takes account of the tepid international support for the current crisis.

Read more about the current crisis in Haiti

Featured   Publications

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

What a Transitional Government in Haiti will Require to Succeed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

By: Nicolás Devia-Valbuena;  Keith Mines

After weeks of consultations, and amidst a near total breakdown of law and order in Haiti, a Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-led effort to create a new transitional governing council may be nearing completion. The council’s establishment would allow for the entry of a multinational security force that would then be able to join with the Haitian National Police and restore order. Some have suggested the inclusion of “enablers” for the new security force — air support, drones, intelligence. But to gain the trust of the Haitian people, the new governing council will need its own popular “enablers,” a systematic way to include many more sectors of Haitian society that are currently ignored or deliberately excluded from governance.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

For Peace in Haiti, Let’s Build on the Success We’re Ignoring

For Peace in Haiti, Let’s Build on the Success We’re Ignoring

Thursday, March 21, 2024

By: Dr. Marie-Marcelle Deschamps;  USIP Staff

Haiti’s new eruption of violence threatens anarchy and famine for its 11 million people and endangers security in the entire region, yet “an old narrative that ‘Haiti is hopeless’” risks deterring U.S and international policymakers from any real effort to help, says Marie-Marcelle Deschamps, an internationally recognized Haitian doctor and humanitarian. “The world is hesitating, and thus isolating Haiti, but this ignores many successful ways that Haitians and international partners have built progress and peace together.”

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Keith Mines on the Collapse of Haiti’s Governance

Keith Mines on the Collapse of Haiti’s Governance

Monday, March 18, 2024

By: Keith Mines

With the governing structure now collapsing, Haitian gangs “have the country in a stranglehold,” says USIP’s Keith Mines, and that the best path to re-establish stability is “to form a new transitional government that would be more inclusive, that would have better connections to the Haitian people.”

Type: Podcast

Global Policy

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Current   Projects

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World: Lessons from Intrastate and Interstate Conflicts

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World: Lessons from Intrastate and Interstate Conflicts

Peacemaking in a Turbulent World answers the following central question: What lessons for effective management of intrastate conflicts emerged from the post-Cold War period that are relevant for managing contemporary conflicts which include intrastate, internationalized (featuring direct engagement by outside powers), and interstate conflicts? ​

Conflict Analysis & PreventionMediation, Negotiation & DialogueDemocracy & GovernanceFragility & Resilience

Fragility and Conflict

Fragility and Conflict

The Global Fragility Act (GFA) is an ambitious law that makes preventing conflicts and promoting stability in countries prone to conflict a U.S. foreign policy priority. Following years of efforts that overemphasized military operations in response to extremist violence and insurgencies, the GFA requires a long-term investment to address the underlying drivers of conflict. The Biden administration has released a new strategy to implement the GFA with 10-year commitments of assistance to a group of fragile states. The GFA and the new strategy rely, in part, on recommendations made by the USIP-convened Task Force on Extremism in Fragile States.

Fragility & ResilienceGlobal Policy

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