Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Performance, Sovereignty, and Violence in Contemporary Haiti

University Of Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Graduate student Chelsey L. Kivland, working under the direction of Dr. Stephan Palmie, will undertake research on popular conceptions of political sovereignty in contexts where there are outside peacekeeping forces present. The research will be carried out in Haiti, where a United Nations peacekeeping mission currently seeks to secure the political and legal authority of the state. The researcher will examine the relationship between the social meanings of peacekeeping and the practices of music and dance groups, known as foot bands (band a pye), in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The foot bands present a vision of the United Nations force as an "occupation," which, instead of enforcing state authority, renders state authority impotent. The researcher will focus on how foot bands have engaged with this contradiction through public ritual performance and other activities. The researcher will undertake an in-depth analysis of foot band activities, which include grassroots social service projects, such as public surveillance, trash collection, and literacy education. She will use semi-structured and informal interview procedures along with participant observation to collect information on these practices and interactions between foot band members and residents, peacekeepers, and governmental representatives. The overarching focus of the research will be on the processes through which domains of governance and the political authority to govern are actually produced. This research will contribute to social science theory about the practical sources of sovereign authority, extending the theory beyond the usual focus on the state itself. The study will have the broader impact of informing policy discussions on the hidden impacts of peacekeeping missions. The research also will build international scholarly collaborations and contribute to the education of a social scientist.