Lost in Translation: ABC Cooperation and Reconstruction in Haiti

Abstract

This article investigates cooperation efforts on the part of Argentina, Brazil and Chile (the ABC countries) in Haiti. It addresses two salient puzzles. First, why did ABC countries miss the opportunity to build a stronger strategic approach in Haiti, despite the favourable setting presented by a multinational stabilisation and development initiative? Second, why has their cooperation in Haiti not surmounted typical characteristics of North-South cooperation, such as poor coordination? It is argued that the absence of strategic cooperation between the ABC countries and the reproduction of problems plaguing North-South cooperation derive from a complex mix of factors, including philosophically different models of economic development, historical rivalries and the interaction between the ABC countries and Haitian political actors.