Summary Of The Dominican Republic
Executive Summary: This policy brief will discuss a problem with democratic consolidation in the Dominican Republic and policy recommendations to fix that issue. Although the Dominican Republic has a relatively good democracy compared to other countries in the region, there are still some problems that can affect the country’s governmental stability. The problem I will be discussing in this brief is the growing discrimination against people of Haitian decent in the Dominican. Specifically I will be discussing the recent ruling by the “Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court that stripped an estimated 210,000 individuals—most of whom are Dominicans born to Haitian sugar cane workers—of their citizenship, effectively leaving them stateless”
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According to Peter H. Smith, a democratic form of government is “when national leaders acquired or held office as a result of free and fair elections…or when there was open competition for support among a substantial portion of the adult population” (Smith 2012). In other words, the general adult population should be able to vote freely for whom they want, and the winner of the election should be named president. A democracy was finally made possible for the Dominican Republic due to the end of the thirty year dictatorship of Trujillo, aid from the United States, and an end to militaristic control. The country has been able to keep a strong grip on the democratic government, but there are definitely obstacles that keep the democracy from …show more content…
After Haiti tried to annex Santo Domingo in 1822, tensions arose that still last today (BBCNews). According to Dr. Ernesto Sagas:
This traditional view of Haitian-Dominican relations was promoted by the 31-year-long dictatorship of Rafael L. Trujillo. It stressed the differences between Haitians and Dominicans, rather than their points in common. A whole generation of Dominican leaders, as well as common folk, was raised under this ideology. As a result, even today most Dominicans share these distorted historical myths (Sagas
According to Peter H. Smith, a democratic form of government is “when national leaders acquired or held office as a result of free and fair elections…or when there was open competition for support among a substantial portion of the adult population” (Smith 2012). In other words, the general adult population should be able to vote freely for whom they want, and the winner of the election should be named president. A democracy was finally made possible for the Dominican Republic due to the end of the thirty year dictatorship of Trujillo, aid from the United States, and an end to militaristic control. The country has been able to keep a strong grip on the democratic government, but there are definitely obstacles that keep the democracy from …show more content…
After Haiti tried to annex Santo Domingo in 1822, tensions arose that still last today (BBCNews). According to Dr. Ernesto Sagas:
This traditional view of Haitian-Dominican relations was promoted by the 31-year-long dictatorship of Rafael L. Trujillo. It stressed the differences between Haitians and Dominicans, rather than their points in common. A whole generation of Dominican leaders, as well as common folk, was raised under this ideology. As a result, even today most Dominicans share these distorted historical myths (Sagas