The Haitian-Dominican Contradiction: Migration and Development in the Dominican Republic

Abstract

This thesis explores the connection between migration and development in the Dominican Republic, specifically in regards to people of Haitian descent there. To examine the connection, perceptions held by Dominican citizens were researched. The historical context of the island and the citizenship issue are imperative to understand the situation of people of Haitians in the Dominican Republic, since this represents a unique situation involving movement from one developing country to another. Social theories were used to examine the perceptions of this movement held by Dominicans. These were used to analyze how Dominicans create their perceptions of others, and how these perceptions may possibly be changed. A political economy framework is used to review the connection between perceptions of migration and perceptions of development. This broad framework allows political and economic aspects of the situation to be considered in tandem. It can also allow for comparisons between different incidences of migration, such as to understand similarities and differences between movement from developing countries to developed countries. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Dominicans to garner these perceptions, in both the rural and urban setting. The conclusions based on the research conducted for this thesis, contrary to most other research in the field, is that Dominicans view migration in the Dominican Republic positively and do not see a conflict between immigration and development of their country.