1. Ashley Etienne
Political science dept – International Relations
Dr. Kyeonghi Baek
SUNY Buffalo State
STAR SEARCH: CAN
CELEBRITY
POLITICIANS HELP
ADVANCE
DEMOCRATIZATION?
2. 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
3. 1.Dynastic Political leaders
Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, Benazir
Bhutto of Pakistan, the Gandhi Political
Dynasty
2. Celebrities through Humanitarian work
Angelina Jolie and Bono of the Band U2
3. Celebrity politicians
Imran Khan, Marudhur Gopalan
Ramachandran (MGR)and Michel Martelly
WHY IT MATTERS?
Introduction Etienne 3/ 23
4. Common in early democratized states
Women 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
5. 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
6. 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
8. 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
9. 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
10. This research examined the Haitian population:
Professionals (e.g., engineers, bankers, bureaucrats
..): 10 Participants
Domestic Workers: 6 Participants
Youth (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
12. MY FINDINGS
Findings Etienne 12/ 23
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
National Votes Interviewer
Votes
PRO
CON
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.
18. The Good:
Concrete
Infrastructure
Social Services to
the Poor
Relatively safe
social environment
A possible peaceful
transition of power
The Bad:
Corruption: No
concrete Democratic
Institution
Political Protests
and Riots
FINDINGS
Findings Etienne 18/ 23
19. 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
21. 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
Are celebrity politicians beneficial?
Is there a rise in socioeconomic factors (housing, and economic wellbeing of the population)
Political Development (a decline in corruption)
The study of celebrity politicians was separated into three schools of thought
1.Dynastic Political leaders
2. Celebrities whom have made political progress through Humanitarian work
3. Celebrity politicians whom are in a roles of leadership (Congress, Prime Minister, President)
Political families are able to continue on with success, and democratization through mobilization of the people.
Corazon Aquino of the Philippines,
Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan,
The Gandhi Political Dynasty
Corazon Aquino and Benazir Bhutto are similar with their poverty alleviation policies. There was more state intervention with land distribution, then there was any economic growth.
The Gandhi Dynasty has lead into in 37 out of 66 years of independence. India may be a democratic nation, but the role of the Gandhi Dynasty is long running past political reform, and now on family name.
Corazon Aquino and Benazir Bhutto were seen as developmental figures. Not only did they have familial leadership ties, but they were also women in power. Pushing for public policies that emphasized greater social and economic justice, clean government, and peace and reconciliation (Amirell, 2012).
MGR was more then a celebrity turned politician. He rallied for the equality of the common man, in the South India region of Tamil Nadu MGR was known for mobilizing the uneducated of India, through his television appearances portraying the colors of his political party, as well as personifying heroes and Indian Gods (Dikey, 15, 1993).
Dynastic families, have less of a contribution to a nation.
Celebrities in humanitarian politics are only able to advance a nation so far
Celebrity politicians in developing nations.
primary source of data collection.
Participants must be living, or have lived, in Haiti up to Martelly’s election.
Participants will be selected in Haiti through my own personal kinship connections.
The focus group interviews will take place in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the month of January 2015
