Redefining Cuban Foreign Policy: The Impact of the "Special Period."

Abstract

Against all odds, Cuba has adapted to the post-Soviet world and redefined itself by drastically realigning its international relationships. These essays from renowned scholars around the globe (including Cuba) analyze the strategy of the revolutionary government as it patched together a totally revamped foreign policy during the years known as the Special Period, from 1989 to the present. With the implosion of the Soviet Union, Cuba's trading partners in the socialist bloc, who also provided the country with subsidies and solid political and military support, suddenly vanished. Almost overnight, however, the tiny country found new trading partners and diplomatic alliances. With a creative and ambitious foreign policy, Cuban socialism overcame formidable obstacles and survived the demise of the USSR and European socialism. This book establishes the context for the radical restructuring of the country's international relations and looks at probable future developments. It focuses on specific case histories of key importance, in particular Havana's relationship with the European Union, Latin America, Canada, Spain, Russia, Mexico, and the Caribbean, since the beginning of the Special Period and especially during the last decade. It also shows how Cuba's response to internal events has negatively influenced the execution of its foreign policy and complicated its domestic environment.