Ashley EtiennePolitical science dept – International RelationsDr. Kyeonghi BaekSUNY Buffalo State

STAR SEARCH: CAN CELEBRITY POLITICIANS HELP ADVANCE DEMOCRATIZATION?

Do pop icons turned political leaders help advance democratization in newly democratizing and developing nations?

Whether and/or how Michel Martelly, as a celebrity politician, has contributed to democratization in Haiti.

RESEARCH QUESTION:

Introduction Etienne 2/ 23

1.Dynastic Political leaders Corazon Aquino of the Philippines,

Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, the Gandhi Political Dynasty

2. Celebrities through Humanitarian workAngelina Jolie and Bono of the Band U2

3. Celebrity politiciansImran Khan, Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran (MGR)and Michel Martelly

WHY IT MATTERS?

Introduction Etienne 3/ 23

Common in early democratized statesWomen in power: Corazon Aquino and

Benazir Bhutto (Amirell, 2012)Attention to Global Issues (Cooper, 2008, ) The message of the common man (Dikey,

1993)Land redistribution (Amirell, 2012)Corruption Scandal: Money Allocation

(Burron, 2013)

WHAT DO I KNOW SO FAR?

Literature Review Etienne 4/ 23

A rare look at People’s Perception/ Opinion on Socioeconomic development (e.g., housing, and economic wellbeing)

Political development (e. g., a decline in political corruption)

Under the Martelly administration

MY CONTRIBUTION

Literature Review Etienne 5/ 23

Colonized as Sant Domingue under French Colonialism (1697)

January 1, 1804 the world’s first free black republic

A pattern of class hierarchy and political instability

United States Occupation (1915-34)

The Duvalier Dynasty (1957-71): Francois Duvalier “Papa Doc”, Jean-Claude Duvalier “Baby Doc”

Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1990-95, 2001-04)

BRIEF HISTORY OF HAITI

History Etienne 6/ 15

HAITI: AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

Methodology Etienne 7/ 15

HAITI: AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

Methodology Etienne 8/ 15

Total Haitian Population: 10.4 million

94 percent of people in displaced person camps have departed for alternative housing.

GDP growth from 6 to 8 billion from 2010 to 2013

How does the class divide in Haiti, contributes to a positive and/or negative opinion of Martelly amongst the Haitian people?

A class divide: People with lower socioeconomic status tends to prefer Martelly

HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis Etienne 9/ 23

This research examined the Haitian population:Professionals (e.g., engineers, bankers, bureaucrats ..):

10 ParticipantsDomestic Workers: 6 ParticipantsYouth (18-29): 3 Participants

Demographic questions: Age, Gender, Education, Job, Political Party Affiliations, etc.

The open-ended questions: Are you satisfied with Martelly’s performance? Why or why

not? Do you think the Martelly administration, as well as his

policies, have affected those in your community?

METHODS: INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS

Methodology Etienne 10/ 23

Non-random sampleSmall-N StudyPort-au-Prince, Haiti

CHALLENGES

Methodology Etienne 11/ 23

MY FINDINGS

Findings Etienne 12/ 23

Nation

al Vo

tes

Interv

iewer

Votes

0

20

40

60

80

PROCON

Voter Turnout for Martelly, only contributed to 15% of 4.7 million registered voters.

Election turnout was low 85% of the population were unregistered non voters.

Lower Middle Upper0

1

2

3

4

5

6

AGREEDisagreeNeither Agree/DisagreeDon’t Know

MY FINDINGS: POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE (CONT’D)

Findings Etienne 13/ 15

Lower Middle Upper012345678

AgreeDisagreeNeither Agree nor DisagreDon’t knowRefused

MY FINDINGS: TRUST IN GOVERNANCE (CONT’D)

Findings Etienne 14/ 15

MY FINDINGS: KEY WORDS- REPEATED BY ALL PARTICIPANTS

(CONT’D)

Schoo

l

Int'l C

om & Ai

d

Educa

tion S

y...

Riots

Roads

Protes

t

Corrup

tion

Constr

uction

Ti Mam

an Che

rieFo

od

45 42

23 2315 13 10 9 7 6

Findings Etienne 15/ 23

HAITI: AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE

Findings Etienne 16/ 15

Lower Middle Upper05

10152025303540

Intl Com & AidEducational SystemInfrastutructueRiots a& ProtestCorruption

MY FINDINGS: KEY WORDS BY CLASS (CONT’D)

The Good: Concrete

InfrastructureSocial Services to

the PoorRelatively safe

social environmentA possible

peaceful transition of power

The Bad:Corruption: No

concrete Democratic Institution

Political Protests and Riots

FINDINGS

Findings Etienne 18/ 23

The Martelly Administration has not provided a more democratic state. Haiti is currently politically unstable, without a proper political institution development.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Concluding Remarks Etienne 19/ 23

HAITI’S FUTURE?

Future Evaluation and Interviews to fellow up on Haitians and Haitian Americans, and how they view Martelly as head of state.

Difference of opinion between those living in Haiti and the US.

FUTURE RESEARCH PLAN

Future Plan Etienne 21/ 23

THANK YOU:DR. BAEK

RONALD E. MCNAIR POST-BACCALAUREATE

ACHIEVEMENT PROGRAM

QUESTIONS?