Dominican Republic. Identity, Borders, and Control

This episode examines how the Dominican Republic built national identity through division, beginning with independence in eighteen forty four and continuing into the present. It traces how borders, race, language, and law were used as tools of control rather than cohesion. Through the rise of dictatorship, state violence, and modern legal exclusion, the episode shows how anti Haitian ideology became embedded in institutions, not just attitudes. The story centers border communities, laborers, and families whose lives were shaped by policies that questioned their right to belong. This is a history of how identity became power, and how unresolved fear continues to shape citizenship today.