Democratic Insecurities
Violence, Trauma, and Intervention in Haiti
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of California Press
Published:2nd Jul '10
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
"Democratic Insecurities" focuses on the ethics of military and humanitarian intervention in Haiti, during and after Haiti's 1991 coup. In this remarkable ethnography of violence, Erica Caple James explores the traumas of Haitian victims whose experiences were denied by U.S. officials and recognized only selectively by other humanitarian providers. Using vivid first-person accounts from women survivors, James raises important new questions about humanitarian aid, structural violence, and political insecurity. She discusses the politics of postconflict assistance to Haiti and the challenges of promoting democracy, human rights, and justice in societies that experience chronic insecurity. Similarly, she finds that efforts to promote political development and psychosocial rehabilitation may fail because of competition, strife, and corruption among the individuals and institutions that implement such initiatives.
"Highly recommended... by highlighting the vivi first-person accounts of female survivors, the author raises important questions about humanitarian aid, structural violence, and political insecurity, while simultaneously outlining some of the ethical quandaries arising from the uses and abuses of power." Choice "Her account is both brave and unsettling... Not only instructive for anthropologists ... but also for humanitarian aid providers who momentarily work or are planning to work in Haiti." -- Hanna Kienzler Somatosphere "[This] is one of the most important books on the country published in years... It radiates intelligence and understanding." Journal Of Sociology & Social Welfare "Highly detailed... James addresses an impressive... range of social theory... and carefully weaves these concepts together... James provides a compelling, sympathetically written, complex and nuanced account." -- Adia Benton Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines
ISBN: 9780520260535
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 28mm
Weight: 635g
384 pages