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#4881: new book on "Corruption in Haiti". (fwd)
From:HAITIBOOKS@aol.com
PÉAN Leslie J.-R. : « Économie politique de la corruption » (The Political
Economy of Corruption) published by Éditions Mémoire, Port-au-Prince, 2000,
523p. (In French)
Leslie Péan's book is a study of corruption in Haiti as never done before. It
covers the period from 1791 to 1870, from the French colony of Saint-Domingue
to Haiti. The author looks at corruption not only from the economic and
financial standpoint (the usual and traditional way), but above all from the
ideological and informational viewpoint. He shows how corrupt representations
stemming from the racist colonial color ideology has permeated all aspects of
life in Haiti, thereby affecting the everyday economic and political
practices of the elites but also the masses. Besides looking at corruption
both in time and space, he discusses the relationships between corruption and
the government of self, « power and governmentality » as seen by Michel
Foucault.
This inward-looking approach is refreshing as it uncovers new aspects of the
color struggle and the rivalry between the foreign political powers
(France, USA, Germany) that have used corruption as their main tool to
protect their markets or to insure allegiance to their world hegemonic
ambitions. Péan also studies the specific corruption filelds (les gisements
de corruption) such as land ownership and distribution, import-export
licenses, government positions (customs chiefs, army commanders, public
notaries, puchase agents for State stores), money lenders to the Government,
etc. that have contributed to transform the Haitian model of liberation (in
1804) into a counter-model of oppression (today).
DISTRIBUTED BY :
HAITIAN BOOK CENTRE
Tel. (718) 528-5578
Fax (718) 426-1931
E-mail : haitibooks@aol.com