The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti’s capital on January 12, 2010 will be remembered as one of the world’s deadliest disasters. The earthquake was a tragedy that gripped the nation – and the world. But as a disaster it also magnified the social ills that have beset this island nation which sits squarely in the U.S.’s diplomatic and geopolitical shadow. Particularly, the quake exposed centuries of underdevelopment and recent economic policies and the rampant inequality and exclusion within Haiti. Tectonic Shifts offers a diverse on-the-ground set of perspectives about Haiti’s cataclysmic earthquake and the aftermath that left more than 1.5 million individuals homeless. Following a critical analysis of Haiti’s heightened vulnerability as a result of centuries of foreign policy and most recently neo-liberal economic policies, this book addresses a range of contemporary realities, foreign impositions and political changes that occurred during the relief and reconstruction periods. Analysis of these realities offers tools for engaged, principled reflection and action. Essays by scholars, journalists, and activists, Haitians still on the island and those in the diaspora, highlight the many struggles that the Haitian people face today, providing lessons not only for those impacted and involved in relief, but for people engaged in struggles for justice and transformation in other parts of the world.

The full impact of the January 12, 2010 earthquake on Haiti s society is yet to be felt as the people continue to organize themselves to raise their country from its ashes. This book reminds us not only of Haiti s potential, but the resiliency of its people to move forward in the midst of the worst disaster that could have fallen on them. The editors have done a great of job of bringing together national and international scholars to help us understand not only how Haiti was destroyed before the earthquake but also what can be done to rebuild it. This is a must read book for everyone who is trying to understand why a 7.0 earthquake on a Richter scale destroyed a whole nation while one that was stronger a few weeks after in Chile barely made a dent on the society.