McAlister: Haiti’s President Leveraged Pop Star Past

David PesciApril 9, 20111min
Martelly used the lessons he learned in the limelight to win an election. Now he must lead a nation

Writing for Foreign Policy, Elizabeth McAlister, associate professor of religion, associate professor of African American studies, associate professor of American studies, explains how even though he doesn’t have much formal political experience, Haiti’s new president, Michal Martelly, used the lessons he learned as one of the nation’s biggest pop stars to win the election. The hard part come next: leading a struggling nation.