Uneven development, conflicts and tensions on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti

Abstract

The Dominican Republic and Haiti, two countries that share the same island and on whose border Dominicans and Haitians live in precarious socioeconomic conditions, but with marked differences and in which tensions and conflicts constantly occur with the use of shared resources, migration and trade.  Thus, on the Dominican side, the authorities trying to reverse the terrible conditions of the inhabitants of the territory implement the Border Zone Development Strategy in the provinces of Montecristi, Santiago Rodríguez and Dajabón, Elías Piña, Pedernales, Independencia and Bahoruco, the which will provide infrastructure for the improvement of basic services and the creation of a framework conducive to the development of productive activities that allow the generation of jobs and income and therefore improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. Starting from this reality, the interest arises to investigate, through the use of a qualitative methodology supported by documentary review and the analysis of statistical data, whether the Dominican strategy could deepen the inequality between both territories. The results of the study provide a novel vision not taken into account until now, that this imbalance increases tensions and conflicts in the areas of migration, trade, access to basic services, border security and diplomacy, causing greater interruptions in the commercial and migratory activities. Hence, any economic and social development effort must be the result of a coordinated intervention at the bilateral level if harmonious and peaceful coexistence is desired on the Dominican-Haitian border.