Book Description

Fidel Castro's revolution and its foreign policy extensions have been the source of much U.S.-Latin American policy frustration during the last 30 years. Not only the ideological tensions, but the almost global sweep of Cuba's national pretensions have consumed U.S. resources and political capital, and thrust a small island nation to the forefront of global intrigue and crisis. But as this volume shows, there are signs that Cuba's internationalism is now at a crossroads. Fauriol and Loser have gathered together a distinguished group of specialists on Cuba to review principal aspects of Cuba's international relations. Among the new dimensions discussed are shifts in Cuba's African policy, the residual political impact of Grenada, developments in Central America, the aftermath of the Ochoa narcotics episode, and perhaps most significantly, the degree of tension between Cuba and both Moscow and Washington, and leadership succession beyond Castro. A primary issue for Cuba, the authors show, will be its isolation within the Soviet bloc, and its refusal to address Gorbachev's challenges to the status quo. At the very least, Cuba risks becoming an irrelevant anachronism amidst the groundswell of change in the communist world. These and other issues are addressed in a major review of Cuba's position in the world 30 years after its revolution. "Cuba: The International Dimension "will be of interest to researchers and policy makers concerned with Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as those interested in changes in the Third World and communist countries worldwide. Contributors include: Jiri Valenta, Jaime Suchlicki, William Ratliff, Ernest Evans, Juan Benemelis, Gillian Gunn, Scott MacDonald, Michael J. Mazaar, Constantine Menges, Jorge F. Perez-Lopez, Jorge Sanguinetty, Paula J. Pettavino, and Juan M. del Aguila.