Changing Cuba Us Relations

This book analyses the evolving engagement of the United States and Cuba, along with the impact of this relationship on Cuba-CARICOM relations and the Caribbean. Through a Caribbean perspective, the chapters discuss the implications of the U.S.-Cuba relationship economically, institutionally and developmentally. Based on the findings of their research, the authors provide policy recommendations to CARICOM on potential areas for enhancing relations between CARICOM and Cuba, drawing on fieldwork and interviews with policymakers, academics, non-governmental organizations, and regional experts.

United States-Cuban Relations breaks new ground in its treatment of this long and tumultuous relationship. The overall approach, mirroring the political science background of both authors, does not focus on historical detail that has been provided by many other works, but rather on a broad analysis of trends and patterns that have marked the long relationship between the two countries. Dominguez and Prevost argue that U.S. policy toward Cuba is driven in significant measure by developments on the ground in Cuba. From the U.S. intervention at the time of the Cuban Independence War to the most recent revisions of U.S. policy in the wake of the Powell Commission, the authors demonstrate how U.S. policy adjusts to developments and perceived reality on the island. The final chapters of the book focus on the contemporary period, with particular emphasis on the changing dynamic toward Cuba from U.S. civil society. Dominguez and Prevost describe how the U.S. business community, fearful of being isolated from Cuba's reinsertion in the world's capitalist markets, have united with long-standing opponents of the U.S. embargo to win the right to sell food and medicines to Cuba over the last four years. Ultimately, the authors are realists about the possibility of better relations between the U.S. and Cuba, pointing out that, short of the collapse of Cuba's current political and economic system, fundamental change in U.S. policy toward the island is unlikely in the immediate future.

This book explores the diverse consequences of Presidents Obama and Castro brokering a rapprochement between the United States and Cuba after more than half a century of estrangement. Economic, political, social, and cultural dynamics are analyzed in accessible fashion by leading experts from Cuba, the United States, Europe, and Latin America. What opportunities arise through the opening of diplomatic relations, and what issues may be obstacles to normalization? What are the implications for the Cuban economy, for its political system, and for ties with members of the Cuban diaspora? What are the implications for US relations elsewhere in Latin America? This up-to-date account addresses these and other questions about this new direction in US-Cuban relations.

Against the background of the history of Cuba–U.S. interconnectedness and in light of Obama’s initiative and Trump’s election, Arnold August deals with the relationship between the two countries, delving into past and current U.S. aggression against Cuba’s artistic field, ideology and politics. Based on twenty years of fieldwork in and investigation of Cuba, this book provides a unique perspective on the island’s diverse approaches to the cultural war being waged by the U.S. and illustrates the heterogeneous nature of Cuban society. Featuring interviews with Cuban-based experts Jesús Arboleya Cervera, Esteban Morales Domínguez, Elier Ramírez Cañedo, Iroel Sánchez Espinosa and Luis Toledo Sande.

Nearly thirty years have passed since the United States first attempted to overthrow the fledgling Castro government. Despite enormous changes in the hemisphere, significant developments in the nature of Cuba's international relations, and an end to the cold war consensus in the United States that quietly sanctioned interference in and obstruction of Third World politics, U.S. policy toward Cuba has changed very little: It still embodies the failed dream of isolating Cuba and destroying the Cuban revolution. In From Confrontation to Negotiation: U.S. Relations with Cuba, Philip Brenner provides a thoughtful overview of U.S.-Cuban relations since 1898, with an emphasis on the past ten years. Assumptions, goals, and continuities in U.S. policy are highlighted. He then offers a clear picture of the issues that divide the two countries and around which any discussions for a normalization of relations would likely turn. Could discussions occur? Is a call for a less hostile relationship between the United States and Cuba politically feasible? What are the chances that Cuba and the United States can actually work out an accommodation? Dr. Brenner analyzes the domestic political factors in each country that shape policy and that might present possibilities for serious discussion. He then proposes a workable alternative Cuban policy for the United States that takes into account the fundamental concerns of both countries. The policy proposal is related to the framework adopted by Policy Alternatives for the Caribbean and Central America (PACCA).

From Jan. 11-14, 2009, Sen. Richard Lugar directed his senior Senate Foreign Relations Comm. staff member for Latin America, Carl Meacham, to evaluate U.S. policy towards Cuba. Mr. Meacham traveled to Cuba at the invitation of the Lexington Institute on official U.S. gov¿t. business. Peter Quilter, Sr. Staff on the House Internat. Relations Comm., was also on the delegation. During this trip, staff met with gov¿t. officials, foreign diplomats, members of the clergy, internat. media rep¿s., Cuban entrepreneurs, and other Cuban citizens in a variety of informal settings outside the apparent presence of Cuban gov¿t. officials. This report provides significant insight and a number of important recommendations to advance U.S. interests with Cuba.

The contributors to this collection offer a range of views on the growing political and economic challenges facing the Castro regime, how these challenges will be met, and Cuba's prospects for a peaceful transition to democracy.

Between revolution and counterrevolution -- The legacy of violence -- A time for dialogue? -- The crisis of 1980 -- Acting as a "superhero"? -- The two contrary currents -- Making foreign policy domestic?

Following the election of Mauricio Funes to the presidency of El Salvador in 2009, relations between Cuba and Latin America came full circle. El Salvador subsequently restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and was the last country to do so, just months after the fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban revolution. In the wake of these dramatic events, it should be noted that just fifty years ago, all Latin American countries--with the exception of Mexico--severed their formal ties with the island. In 1962, with heavy pressure from the United States, Cuba's membership in the Organization of American States (OAS) was suspended. In May 2009, at an historic OAS meeting in Honduras and against the strong wishes of the United States, the Latin American countries voted unanimously that Cuba should be returned to full membership in the organization.This volume seeks to fill a very significant void in the recently published scholarship in English on Cuba's relationship with Latin America. Cuban foreign policy has received attention over the years, but the bulk of the scholarship has been on its relationship with the United States. That relationship is important and will also be addressed in this book by Esteban Morales Dominguez, who for many years has been Cuba's leading scholar of US-Cuban relations. His most recent book US-Cuban Relations--A Critical History was coauthored with Gary Prevost, a coeditor of this volume. Other important books have focused Cuba's relationship with the superpowers from the Cold War era as well as Cuba's role in Africa.The contributors to this volume have demonstrate conclusively that a decade into the twenty-first century, Cuba has achieved a position in the hemisphere that is far less isolated than at any previous time since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959. That reintegration into hemispheric affairs is evident in many crucial areas like politics, economics, and culture.There is no doubt that Cuba's position in the hemisphere has been bolstered by the leftward direction of Latin American politics. This trend has clearly permitted the development of such new organizations as ALBA and the Bank of the South, but it is not likely that even the return to more conservative governments in the region would risk putting Cuba back into its previous position of relative isolation because once political, economic, and cultural ties are fully established, they become much more difficult to reverse. While the United States might welcome the election of more conservative governments in key countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela, it is unlikely that Washington, in a multipolar world, would be able to convince key Latin American governments to reverse their policies of full inclusion of Cuba into hemispheric affairs.This is an important volume for all scholars of Latin American politics and for scholars of US foreign policy, especially those focused on US-Cuban relations.