rtrand Aristide. The aim was to return Haiti to the repressed and fearful society of the Duvalier era. Under Avril’s leadership, the human rights situation in Haiti was worse than it had ever been. The military executed, tortured and illegally arrested countless Haitians. There was no limit to what groups were targeted. Those who expressed support for ousted President Artistide were particularly harassed and met with violent reprisals by the military. The persistence of serious human rights violations that existed suggested an ongoing refusal of the military to relinquish power to an elected civilian government (Silencing A People, 1993). After the coup d’ etat, thousands upon thousands of Haitians set forth on a long journey with hopes of seeking refuge in the United States, “the land of opportunity”, via Florida. From the very beginnings of the crisis in Haiti, we can see the various policies adapted by the three different presidents who held office in the U.S. Through the Reagan, Bush, and finally Clinton administrations, there is an evolution of policy from that of silence, to a gradual increase of concern, and ultimately an objective of restoring democracy in Haiti. However, the one thing that remained constant throughout each administration was the U.S. policy and practice of interdiction and repatriation of Haitian refugees. This policy was indeed successful in curtailing the influx of Haitians into the U.S. (Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Haiti, 1994). The theory of normative liberalism can be seen as an explanation for the U.S. policy in dealing with the Haitian refugees. The theory assumes that democratic societies have certain democratic norms translate into international non-violence. However, any state that violates these norms will be subject to punishment. The essential norm that identifies liberalism is the right to individual freedoms, which above all is the idea of moral freedom. Liberalism calls for freedom from subjective authority or “negative freedoms”, and the right to democratic participation or representation (Art and Jervis, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs”, 1996). Domestic norms affect international relations because leaders become socialized to them and will therefore act internationally according to them. The manner in which the U.S. essentially chose to handle the crisis in Haiti including the expectations of the Haitian government that it set forth exemplify this concept of promoting the nation’s domestic norms on an international level. According to the theory, the actors are foreign policy leaders. These foreign policy leaders consist of mainly the President, but his administration, including the State Dept. and ambassadors, are also key players. These actors have roughly the same values, but party affiliation does reflect different strains of liberalism. The changes in actors reflect subtle changes in policy over time. President Reagan’s administration was responsible for enacting the program of interdicting and repatriating the Haitian refugees. Unfortunately, the Reagan administration adopted a policy of silence with regards to the human rights violations that were plaguing Haiti despite their professed commitment to human rights. The Bush administration, like the Reagan administration before it, also failed to publicly criticize the Haitian military abuses during its first few months in office. The Bush administrations upheld the interdiction and repatriation policy with regards to the refugees, as did the Clinton administration that followed. On January 14, 1993, President-elect William Clinton went on the radio with a message asking Haitians to remain in their country and informing them that when sworn into office, the “boat people” would continue to be intercepted and returned to Haiti. The new Clinton administration announced a global plan to restore democracy in Haiti and secure the return of President Aristide (Report on the Situation o

Some topics in this essay:
Rights Haiti, Reverting Despotism, Silencing People, Foreign Affairs”, Rights Watch, Rocky Mountain, President Clinton’s, County Register, President Arsitide, Jean Bosco, human rights, haitian government, normative liberalism, haiti 1994, interdiction repatriation, bush administration, human rights haiti, rights haiti, piece evidence, human rights violations, report situation, policy interdiction, silencing people 1993, reverting despotism 1990, report situation human,