Political Science

The Dominican Republic (D.R) is a region located on the eastern part of the island of Hispaniola. It covers 23 of the region and it is estimated to be forty thousand and forty two kilometers square in size. The Dominican Republic has a population of about nine million people. It is the second largest island on the Caribbean after Cuba. The Dominican Republic is governed by a system of a Representative Democracy. There are three arms in the government namely the judiciary, the legislature (composes of 32 senators and 178 chamber deputies) and the executive (the President and the Vice). A more recent history of D.R dates about six hundred years ago after its discovery by the great sailor Christopher Columbus in 1492. He presented it as a gift to the king of Spain. Spain later handed it over to France who ruled until its independence in 1884. The nation became a democratic republic in 1962 after a dictatorship rule was out-thrown. The current president of the Dominican Republic is called Leonell Fernandez.

In the mid 2005, Dominican Republic saw the coming together of three big entities in the Caribbean to form a high technology research centre. These entities were the Stevens Institute of Technology, the Coralina Group Technologies and the Pontifica Catolica Universidad Madrey Maestra (PCUMM). This institute was to collaborate with the international commission for science and technology in increasing the level of knowledge in the nation. In Latin America, the Dominican Republic is one of the few countries with advanced technology. Although the country cannot boast on many major achievements, it is on the forefront in promoting the development of ICT in Latin and North America.

The D.R is the leading tourist destination in the Caribbean at the moment. By May 2009 aids prevalence in the region was very high. The most contributing factor was the high rate of Sex trade in the country. An estimate of eighty eight thousand people is living with HIVAIDS. The percentage of adults living with HIVAIDS is 1.7 of the whole population.  HIV AIDS is more prevalent in men between the ages of 15-49.  The number of infected males and females between 15 to 49 years is 62,800 and 23000 respectively. About 3,300 children below fifteen years of age are suffering from HIV AIDS. The Dominican Government has responded fully to this pandemic. The government is putting in place strategic plans to deal with aids. Funds have been allocated to conduct education on aids.

The culture in D.R is a blend of African, European (Spaniards) and the original Dominican natives (Taino). Over 95 of the people in the country are Catholics. Beauty is keenly observed in the nation and a festival (Cabral) is carried on every Good Friday for teens to demonstrate their understanding of beauty. Traditional art and music (merengue) are still practiced in the Republic. The Dominican cuisine is largely served in many restaurants in the country. Baseball is the most practiced sport in the country.

In matters relating to economy, the country is not faring well. The budget is operating at a deficit of 3.3 on the GDP. The country has not yet recovered fully from the current recession but the spending power or per capita is gaining. Thanks to globalization, the countrys economy is picking up very fast through exports. The countrys best performing sectors are tourism, mining and agriculture. These sectors have been boosted greatly by globalization. Currently the country is in a very big debt totaling over eight billion US dollars. The IMF is very much involved in the promoting the economy of the country. It supports the budget through a stand-by arrangement between the two. The countrys imports include consumable goods, oil, textiles, fertilizer and medicinal products. The exports include natural gas, precious stones and agricultural products.
The DR environment consists of unique ecosystems. Currently the climate in the region is facing serious threats. The major causes of these problems are extensive mining activities, agriculture, and deforestation. Activities like tourism in the coastal areas have initiated development along the coastline. This has led to the degradation of coastal reefs and estuaries. The country has accepted to ratify the Kyoto protocol and has implemented measures to pursue environment matters.

The population in DR is estimated to be about nine million people. It rates number eighty two in the world. The population of the country is largely composed of middle aged people (60). About 5 of the population composes of persons over sixty five years and 35 is children below fifteen years. The ratio between male to female is 105 for every group of 100 respectively. Most of the population lives in the Cibao and coastal regions. Urban areas consist over 65 of the population. The fertility rate is estimated to be 2.8 ( 22.91 for every 1000 people). Population growth rate for the past 20years is 1.8.  Mortality rate as at July 2009 was estimated at 5.28 deaths in a group of 1000 people a day. The country backed by the UNICEF is setting measures to curb its population growth. It is estimated that by 2015 the population of D.R will be over 11million. One of the best measures taken by the Government is the provision of civic education on matters relating to family planning. Tax imposed on contraceptives has been lifted to reduce prices.

A recent conflict involving the DR was on the year 2008.  Although this was a Haitian problem, it spread to the DR forcing it to retaliate. The Haitians were demanding the return of a former president. The major conflict between the two nations was born from the numerous kidnappings of Dominicans by the Haitians. These forms of conflicts affect the economy of DR greatly. This is because the country depends mostly on the service sector (tourism) and it cannot thrive in an unstable political environment.

Conclusion
The Dominican Republic is the biggest economy on the Caribbean. The country also has the most stable but not powerful system of governance (Cuba rates number one) in the region. These are some of the crucial strengths the country has apart from its stability in economy. The countrys GDP is enough to support its huge population. The country is actively involved in peace negotiations (Haiti) and is on the forefront in implementing the Kyoto protocol having accepted to ratify it.