Social and Solidarity Economy and International Cooperation in Haiti: Development without the State?

This 2016 Master in Development Studies dissertation by Yu Zhiming examines Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) and international cooperation in Haiti under the question of whether development is being pursued without or around the state. The abstract situates the inquiry after the 2010 earthquake and cholera outbreak, when humanitarian and development aid became deeply embedded in Haitian development processes and international actors gained strong influence because of perceived shortages in local government capacity.

The dissertation defines SSE broadly through cooperatives, associations, self-managed social economic organizations, microfinance and social enterprises. It argues that many SSE-like interventions are accidental rather than planned, while other projects are justified by the absence or weakness of the state. The study reviews SSE ideas internationally, Haiti's history of crisis and intervention, the role of NGOs and international cooperation, and Haitian cooperative, microfinance and grassroots solidarity practices.

It draws on applied early-recovery research, an internship at UNRISD and interviews with Haitian actors. The evidence includes case material on village banking, mutual solidarity groups, cooperatives, popular finance networks and organizations such as KNFP, FINCA, PAPDA, MPP and GRAMIR. The thesis treats SSE as potentially useful in post-crisis settings but also as politically ambiguous when it substitutes for public authority or reinforces a development model organized outside the state.