Humanitarian aid and local power structures: lessons from Haiti's ‘shadow disaster’

Publication Title

Disasters

ISSN

03613666

E-ISSN

44105

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This paper investigates the confluence of humanitarian aid, centralisation, and politics. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 led to more than USD 16 billion in pledges. By contrast, Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in Haiti on 4 October 2016, stayed in the shadows, attracting about one per cent of the amount. While the earthquake exhibited one face of centralisation, the Category 4 storm laid bare rural vulnerabilities shaped by postcolonial state neglect, and reinforced by the influx of non-governmental organisations in the ‘Republic of Port-au-Prince’. The study draws on data from four case studies in two departments to illuminate the legacies of hyper-centralisation in Haiti. Compounding matters, Matthew struck in the middle of an extended election that the international community attempted to control again. The paper argues that disaster assistance and politics are uncomfortably close, while reflecting on the momentary decentralisation of aid after the hurricane and its effectiveness.

First Page

641

Last Page

665

Publication Date

10-1-2020

DOI

10.1111/disa.12380

PubMed ID

31237709

Keywords

aid, decentralisation, elections, Haiti, humanitarian aid, Hurricane Matthew, hurricanes, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), politics

Department

Department of Anthropology; Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies

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