In his study, Kumar examines the requirements for peace to develop fully in Haiti. The author looks at historical factors, including Haiti’s independence movement and the American deployment from 1917 to 1934, as well as recent efforts made by the United States and the United Nations to address Haiti’s poverty and to promote democracy. His main contention is that until some reconciliation and consensus-building occurs between Haiti’s economic elite and its peasantry, a long-term peace remains unlikely. The existing tension between these two groups is profound, stemming from the slave rebellion and independence movement, and later was exacerbated by the U.S. occupation prior to the Second World War. Poor leadership from Haiti’s past governmental leaders deepened the divide, as economic disparities were either exploited or neglected. The elites also missed key opportunities to provide the necessary democratic leadership and economic justice that Haiti so desperately needed. On a number of occasions, Kumar notes Haitians’ lack of distinction between public and private economic activities. Rather, monopolies remain the norm, and elites resist economic ventures that could be provided more fairly by the government.

What may be most interesting to readers is Kumar’s second chapter, which is devoted to the recent UN deployment in Haiti. He generally commends the international community for its efforts and notes the dramatic infrastructural improvements, a general restoration of safety, and the tentative advances in Haiti’s economic conditions. He commends the role of the UN secretary-general’s Special Representative to Haiti, Lakhdar Brahimi, whose commitment to Haiti’s progress was sincere and profound. He also notes the willingness of Pakistani and American forces to go beyond their specific duties to address local problems. However, at the same time Kumar recognizes that these actions only represent a short-term political “band aid,” and that the UN must go further in seeking to understand local conditions and problems intrinsic to the country. He is also quite critical of the international and American political climate in 1994, which sought a quick solution and a speedy “exit strategy,” which runs directly counter to Haiti’s needs.

In the book’s conclusion, the author provides a number of suggestions for future peace-building activities. Kumar is concerned foremost with the lack of recognition for local conditions vis-à-vis the preferred or “standard” solutions offered by international organizations for impoverished and unstable countries. Kumar also feels that without an accepted judiciary and a more trusted police force, Haiti’s progress will be only piecemeal.

Kumar’s understanding of Haiti’s political and economic conditions is impressive. His wide references and interviews conducted in Haiti make his analysis broad in scope and rich in detail. Readers will find it difficult to fault his research. In a number of places, the author provides only a cursory recall of Haitian history and the 1994 deployment, which may be disappointing to some. Readers should not expect an all-encompassing study of Haiti’s political culture, its problems, and past crisis. Yet literature on these topics exists in other works, while Kumar’s focus is much more limited. Kumar makes a convincing case that economic stratification between rich and poor and the government’s inability to rectify this problem is Haiti’s foremost dilemma. I would have preferred more attention devoted to the recent UN operation, yet the book remains a solid contribution to the literature, which policymakers and students alike will find useful.