NEW EDITION:

DAMMING THE FLOOD
HAITI AND THE POLITICS OF CONTAINMENT

By PETER HALLWARD

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³A marvellous bookŠriveting and deeply-informed² ‹Noam Chomsky

³Hallward's outstanding book is not just about Haiti, but about what it
means to be a "leftist" today² ‹ Slavoj Zizek, NEW STATESMAN
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2008/08/haiti-aristide-lavalas

³An excellent book ... the first accurate analysis of recent Haitian
history, and of its history in the making.²­ Dr. Paul Farmer, Deputy UN
Special Envoy to Haiti

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DUBLIN EVENT:
Peter Hallward will be giving a lecture entitles ŒThe Will of the People
and the Struggle for Democracy¹ at Wood Quay Venue, Civic Offices, Dublin
on Thursday, February 17th, 6 - 8pm
http://ncadnews.u123.hosting365.ie/news/?p=246

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One year on from the devastating earthquake which hit Haiti in January
2010, political philosopher Peter Hallward¹s acclaimed DAMMING THE FLOOD
is republished ­ updated and with a substantive new afterword covering the
events of the last year in Haiti, the international response to the
earthquake and the run-up to the recent presidential elections.

Hallward shows how the international response to the 2010 earthquake has
been a continuation of ongoing attempts by the US and other international
forces to deny the Haitian people a democratic voice, with highly
militarised international aid efforts prioritising political and security
aims over humanitarian ones, to the cost of the majority of Haiti¹s people.

Hallward argues that the primary function of the UN in post-quake Haiti
has not been humanitarian relief, but ³to pacify the Haitian people, and
make them accept the coup and the end of their attempt to establish
genuine democratic rule.²

Once the most lucrative European colony in the Caribbean, Haiti has long
been one of the most divided and impoverished countries in the world. In
the late 1980s a remarkable popular mobilization known as Lavalas, or ³the
flood,² sought to liberate the island from decades of US-backed
dictatorial rule.

Led by President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the Lavalas movement won
landslide election victories in 1991 and 2000, and both times was
overthrown by bloody military coups, backed by Aristide¹s enemies in Haiti
and the US and France. Damming the Flood gives the definitive account of
these events, and features a revealing and in-depth interview with
Aristide, carried out after his exile from Haiti.

The elaborate international campaign to contain, discredit and overthrow
Lavalas, to protect Haiti¹s elites and to deny its people their voice has
been perhaps the most successful act of imperial sabotage since the end of
the Cold War. Its execution and its impact have much to teach anyone
interested in the development of today¹s political struggles in Latin
America and the rest of the post-colonial world.

DAMMING THE FLOOD is both the definitive account of recent Haitian history
and an illuminating analysis of the workings of twenty-first century
imperialism.

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Articles on Haiti by Peter Hallward:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/13/our-role-in-haitis-plig
ht
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/23/haiti-shameful-un-betra
yal
http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/02/essay-haiti-fran
ce-colonial

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Praise for DAMMING THE FLOOD:

³Very convincing, a marvellous book. This riveting and deeply-informed
account should be carefully read by those who recognize that Haiti¹s
tragic history is a microcosm of imperial savagery and heroic resistance ­
resistance which, as Hallward argues, will continue to shape Haiti¹s
political future if its people are granted the opportunity to take their
fate into their own hands.² ‹ NOAM CHOMSKY

³Well organised, beautifully written and scholarly² ‹ CHARTIST

³Hallward¹s rigorously researched yet passionately polemical study finds
all too little sign of seismic political change in the island state since
the earthquake of 2010.² - SCOTSMAN

³DAMMING THE FLOOD is an excellent book, the best study of its kind. It
offers the first accurate analysis of recent Haitian history, and of its
history in the makingŠHallward¹s new book is required reading for anyone
who seeks to know Haiti and to understand the forces arrayed against all
those who believe in genuine democracy.²‹Paul Farmer, Harvard University.

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PETER HALLWARD is Professor of Modern European Philosophy at Kingston
University. He is the author of several books including ABSOLUTELY
POSTCOLONIAL, BADIOU: A SUBJECT TO TRUTH, OUT OF THIS WORLD: DELEUZE AND
THE PHILOSOPHY OF CREATION, and DAMMING THE FLOOD. He writes regularly for
publications including the GUARDIAN and NEW STATESMAN.

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ISBN 978 1 84467 466 4 / $19.95 / £12.99 / Paperback / 512 pages

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For more information or to buy the book visit:
http://www.versobooks.com/books/524-damming-the-flood

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