Case 245 - President Clinton's Haiti Dilemma

Martin, Curtis H.

This two-part case study highlights some of the problems of intervention in the post-Cold War environment, using President Bill Clinton’s policy toward Haiti during his first 18 months in office (January 1993-September 1994) as an example. The case lends itself to the exploration of a wide range of issues: the impact of the domestic context, the merits and demerits of using force, the “war powers” debate, the problem of defining and balancing U.S. national interests, the nature of presidential leadership, the importance of credibility in the calculation of interests, the connection between force and diplomacy, and the debate between “realists” and “idealists” It can be used in graduate or upper-level undergraduate courses in U.S. foreign policy, U.S. security policy, and international relations, particularly those focused on the nature of international politics in the post-Cold War era.