No country can escape the knocking of globalization, especially a small island nation that just recently opened the door to invite back in the world’s sole surviving superpower. The recent revival of United States-Cuba relations has put Cuba in a precarious situation, whereby the next few years will be extremely crucial in defining their new place in the global world system. However, with the implementation of much-needed economic reforms, advancement strategies, and the normalization of US-Cuba diplomatic ties, Cuba has the potential to thrive .
Brief Timeline of US-Cuba Relations The United States and Cuba have a longstanding and intertwined history, dating back to the founding of Cuba in 1902. Although declared a sovereign entity, the
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After the meeting, Nixon announced that the US had no choice other than to pressure the new Cuban regime to get back on the “’right direction.’” In 1960, the United States eliminated all diplomatic relations with Cuba and enacted a trade embargo after every US business in Cuba was nationalized without any monetary reparations. The next thirty years are characterized by a competing power struggle, including assassination plans made against Fidel Castro by the Central Intelligence Agency, Cuban alignment with Russia, and the subsequent Cuban missile crisis. Tensions rise again in the early 1990s when the United States significantly strengthens its embargo on Cuba and essentially declares it a permanent fixture after Cuba shoots down two US aircraft. However, some level of cooperation is realized in the late 1990s when the United States agrees to accept 20,000 Cuban immigrants annually and loosens the process whereby Cuban Americans can send money to relatives and loved ones still in …show more content…
Since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations two years ago, there has been much talk about how to best move forward. Will the United States be given as much influence and power as they previously held under the Platt Agreement? Will the embargo be lifted, and if so, under what stipulations? How does the Cuban government plan to remedy the increasing economic pressure imposed due to their current state of globalization? Authors Jeffrey and Hannah Sachs of the Globe and Mail offer two possible scenarios. In the first, the United States adopts the same hands-on approach as before. Perhaps Congress will demand that previously nationalized US property be recompensed or the “unrestricted right of Americans to buy Cuban land and other property.” Or maybe the United States will assert ideological superiority over socialist thought and demand state-owned enterprises be privatized, such as the public health care
The Cuban Revolution was touchy topic for the United States and Cuba. America’s alienation of Cuba didn’t help when communism from the USSR was brewing over the revolution. When the revolution gained Castro as its leader, the worry and hatred from the United States was unbearable, especially when the Soviet Union landed in Cuba to interest Castro in its aid. The US’s fear of communism, Fidel Castro, and aid from the Soviet Union was significant because it changed the US’s political role in Cuba during the Cuban Revolution.
After it became officially globally acknowledged that Cuba was in fact a communist state and was being led through a dictatorship run by Castro, it did not take long before powerful enemies and essential allies were formed. The act of seizing all foreign land with none or very little compensation was received with great hostility amongst those who lost in their property through this process, and probably the reaction that had the biggest impact on Cuba’s economy was that of the US. Castro’s communistic policies did not of course help calm this resentment and also took part in leading to the establishment of trade embargos with Cuba from the US. This meant that Cuba would now lose a very valuable buyer of their precious sugar, [5] but they did however gain another one, a powerful nation that shared quite similar Marxist ideals and were quick to form an alliance with the Cubans, the USSR.
In 1959, Cubareceived 74 percent of its imports from the US, and the US received 65 percentof Cuba’s exports. On February 3, 1962, the United States imposed a fulltrade embargo on Cuba, completely ending any type of trade between the twocountries. This embargo remains in effect today, more than four decades later,and has grown ! to be a huge center of debate and controversy (DeVarona 8).Opponents to the embargo argue that the embargo does nothing more than hurt theCuban people, while proponents argue that the embargo places pressure on Castroto repair Cuba’s mismanaged and corrupt government. Both the supportersand the opponents of this embargo have strong arguments and evidence to supportthese
During the Cold War, relations between Cuba and the United States were icy. Cuba was allied with the USSR, America’s enemy, and was well within their sphere of influence. With events like the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis happening on their soil, Cuba was at the center of the Cold War. Between ideological differences and their alliance with Russia, Cuba became an enemy of America as well. It took the efforts of ten American presidents, six Popes, and countless other actors, but Cuba and America are finally in the process of normalizing relations. There is still work to be done, but the path is clear and the time is right. However, one cannot simply ignore the last fifty years. In that time, millions of lives were affected by the lack of social, economic, and political ties between the U.S. and Cuba. In this paper, I will analyze the last fifty years of U.S. - Cuban relations by looking at the involved actors, their means, and their values and interests through the lenses of two paradigms, realism and constructivism.
In the article, “Why Do We Still Have an Embargo of Cuba?” Patrick Haney explores the history of the embargo and the different factors which have maintained and tightened its restrictions over the past fifty years. The embargo consists of a ban on trade and commercial activity, a ban on travel, a policy on how Cuban exiles can enter the U.S., and media broadcasting to the island. These once-executive orders now codified into law by the Helms-Burton Act, have become a politically charged topic which wins and loses elections, spawned influential interest groups, and powerful political action committees.
The United States and Cuba have had a history of tension that goes back about 50 years. Within those years, an embargo was placed that kept Cuba isolated from participating in activities such as trade with the U.S. In 2008, a major step towards
Tensions between the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Cuba had always been apparent due to the United States heavy involvement within the countries. However, our nation also had a tendency to turn the other cheek if the issue Cuba had been dealing with was in favor of the United States. Though Cuba was economically doing very well, their political system was in turmoil with itself. This made them vulnerable to attack, and the U.S. took advantage of this. After the U.S.S. Maine was attacked in the Spanish-American war, the United States entered, and demolished. We did not suffer nearly as many casualties as those of the Spanish army. Many Cubans migrated to the U.S., but found a large portion of their natural rights taken by new acts and regimes. Puerto
The United States embargo of Cuba has its roots planted in 1960, 53 years ago, when “the United States Congress authorized President Eisenhower to cut off the yearly quota of sugar to be imported from Cuba under the Sugar act of 1948… by 95 percent” (Hass 1998, 37). This was done in response to a growing
Cuba is a nation that formed from a history of colonial and imperial domination. Formal colonial status under Spain ended during the invasion by the United States in 1898, when military and corporate interests made the island a de facto colony of the United States. However, Cuba and the United States have had a long history of both political and military ties; both good and bad. Nevertheless, these ties have played a vital role in the current relationship the United States maintains with Cuba. In the recent years, both countries have continued to work toward a better diplomatic relationship; possibly enhancing the overall success of both Cuba and the United States.
When Fidel Castro took over Cuba by means of a revolution, he quickly established his government as the first openly Communist government in the western hemisphere. He petitioned the Soviet Union for aid, which was cheerfully given him. These events went against our current policies, as well as the Monroe Doctrine, which established us as the police force of the western hemisphere. Ninety miles away from the greatest bastion of Capitalism was now residing its greatest foe. This tense situation was brought to a boiling point by the arrival of
The United States is known for being one of the greatest and strongest countries in the world looking at past events and in this day and age. What might strike some people as shocking is that the U.S. would not be as strong without close ties with other countries or allies. Examples would be France, England, and Canada, plus many more. What people don’t talk about is the U.S.’s rivals or countries that the U.S. has had trouble with in the past leading up to now. One of the most renowned countries is only ninety miles away from the southern tip of Florida and that is Cuba. Cuba is known for the fantastic beaches, some of the most well-known baseball players around, and, of course, Cuban cigars and rum. But, the past with Cuba is not as bright as the U.S. wants it to be because of historical events such as the embargo, the Bay of Pigs, and the Cuban missile crisis during World War II that caused the two countries to separate as allies and close tied nations. Over the past year the U.S. and Cuba have been trying to put the past behind them and have diplomatic and cultural relations once again.
Cuba and The United States of America (U.S.A.) reside within a close proximity of each other. They share sunny weather the vast majority of the year and the Caribbean’s beautiful beaches. In fact, there is a certain point in Key West that is located 90 miles away from Cuba. For this reason, and many others, it is not a surprise that some people find these two countries very similar, but that is far from the truth. Cuba and the United States of America are two entirely different countries that differentiate amongst their economy, society, and technological advances.
A lot has gone on between the United States and Cuba between 1959 and 2015. In 1959, Cuba and the United States cut off diplomatic ties. On December 17, 2014, the United States and Cuba announced that they would restore diplomatic ties. Diplomatic ties is defined as “The art or practice of conducting international relations, as in negotiating alliances, treaties, and agreements” by The Free Dictionary. This means that two countries work together and with other countries to talk about alliances and make treaties and agreements. When they cut off diplomatic ties, the United States and Cuba basically had nothing to do with each other on the international scene.
From the time, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba tensions ran high between the Cuban government and the United States government. Relations between Cuba and the United States grew during Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. Not as much during the Eisenhower administration as the Kennedy administration did tensions between between the two countries intensify. Kennedy faced many a different situations as President. He faced such situations like the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Tensions have mounted high for a long time between Cuba and the United States.
Although Obama’s desire for better relations with Cuba is an important factor in the normalization of US-Cuban relations, the most important factor is a change in national opinion towards Cuba, a second image analysis. In 1998, a poll by ABC News indicated that 38% of Americans believed that diplomatic relations should be re-established with Cuba (Polling Report). A similar poll conducted in 2015 by USA Today/Gallup put that number at 61% (Polling Report). Any political decision is strongly influenced by public opinion. Obama’s decision to normalize US-Cuban relations is only possible because more people, particularly Cuban-Americans, are open to the idea of better relations between the two nations. Historically, many Cubans have moved to the US to flee persecution and oppression under the dictatorial Cuban government. Traditionally they have been the strongest opponents against US-Cuban rapprochement, but in recent decades this opposition has eased considerably. This may be because of a generational shift in the Cuban-American community, as second- and third- generation Cuban-Americans have become more tolerant and welcome towards greater openness between the two countries.