This volume, a product of the first Tricontinental Conference organized by Yeditepe University, İstanbul, brings together perspectives on democracy and development in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. Representing local voices and insight, the contributors here respond to the dearth of comparative analysis on these three regions. In spite of the differences observed in colonial practices and postcolonial transitions, a shared disenchantment with the performance of competitive politics comes to the forefront in these geographical areas. Decades after decolonization, low-intensity democracy and the continuing potential for democratic reversals and backsliding make the study of these three regions relevant. Considering the debates on protests, social upheavals, activism, change and continuity, this book encourages the reader to survey the various trials and tribulations of the postcolonial era.

"It took months of God waking me up in the middle of the night before I realized I was the one He was calling to leave my comfortable American life and move to Haiti." Miracle on Voodoo Mountain is the inspirational memoir of an accomplished and driven 24-year old who quit her job, sold everything, and moved to Haiti, by herself—all without a clear plan of action. Megan Boudreaux had visited Haiti on a few humanitarian trips but each trip multiplied the sense that someone needed to address the devastation—especially with the children, many of whom were kept as household slaves on the poverty-stricken and earthquake-devastated Caribbean island. God guided her every step as she moved blindly to a foreign land without knowing the language, the people, or the future. From becoming the adoptive mother of former child slaves, to receiving the divine gift of the Haitian Creole language, to starting, building, and running a school for more than 500 children, "the amazingness of what God did after I made the choice to be obedient is incredible," said Megan. Three years later, six acres on Bellevue Mountain in Gressier is the home of the nonprofit Respire Haiti at the former site of voodoo worship, and in the area that many still come to make animal sacrifices, Megan and her staff of nearly 200 are transforming this community as they educate, feed, and address the needs.

Shelley Jean traveled to Haiti determined to adopt an orphan she had discovered online. Although she was already the mother of two biological children, expanding her family by embracing a displaced child was, in part, a fulfillment of her compassionate Christian faith. But when she witnessed the agony many Haitian women experienced when poverty -not lack of love-forced them to give up their children to orphanages, she was outraged. Soon, a new mission blossomed. As she came to better understand and appreciate the people of Haiti, Shelley had a vision of creating jobs that would help some parents earn an income so that they could support their babies and raise them to become productive adults. ..". Shelley's absolute passion and commitment for the human right to a dignified livelihood ... is palpable." -Jennifer Gootman, vice president, Social Consciousness & Innovation, West Elm Despite her own domestic challenges and, at times, the doubts about God's providence that arose after witnessing the devastation caused by earthquakes and hurricanes, Shelley's trial-and-error approach took hold. First, she taught a small group of mothers how to make artisanal products that she now markets worldwide. But she did not stop there. " ... what she's made of herself, as this unflinching story reveals, is a servant ... if this book doesn't inspire you, nothing will." -Mary Fisher, American activist and author Papillon Enterprise, which began as Apparent Project, now has a global reach that has been recognized and praised by Oprah, Vogue Magazine, The Gap, and designer Donna Karan. But there were many sacrifices and defeats along the way. As Shelley sought to reshape the economic landscape of a small nation in dire need of help, she also restored her own ravaged beliefs so that she and her family could emerge stronger and with their faith intact. This memoir is ideal for women of all faiths who know in their hearts that the cruel world can be transformed by love. For men, this unique search for truth sheds light on the undeniable power of the feminine spirit.

Notions of Identity, Diaspora, and Gender in Caribbean Women's Writing uses a unique four-dimensional lens to frame questions of diaspora and gender in the writings of women from Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Haiti. These divergent and interconnected perspectives include violence, trauma, resistance, and expanded notions of Caribbean identity. In these writings, diaspora represents both a wound created by slavery and Indian indenture and the discursive praxis of defining new identities and cultural possibilities. These framings of identity provide inclusive and complex readings of transcultural Caribbean diasporas, especially in terms of gender and minority cultures.

This book examines the ways in which a minority of primarily white, male, French philanthropists used their social standing and talents to improve the lives of peoples of African descent in Saint-Domingue during the crucial period of the Haitian Revolution. They went to great lengths to advocate for the application of universal human rights through political activities, academic societies, religious charity, influence on public opinion, and fraternity in the armed services. The motives for their benevolence ran the gamut from genuine altruism to the selfish pursuit of prestige, which could, on occasion, lead to political or economic benefit from aiding blacks and people of color. This book offers a view that takes into account the efforts of all peoples who worked to end slavery and establish racial equality in Saint-Domingue and challenges simplistic notions of the Haitian Revolution, which lean too heavily on an assumed strict racial divide between black and white.

An analysis of social and political development in Haiti on their connection to Americas policies