Grenada And Soviet Cuban Policy

The turmoil in the Caribbean and Central America does not have a single cause; it results from both indigenous factors and outside intervention. Some liberals see revolution as the result of poverty and injustice and ignore the East-West security dimensions of the problem, the role of Leninist ideology, and the actions of the Soviet Union and its a

The Soviet Union and Cuba (1987) examines the thesis that Cuba acted as an extension of Soviet foreign policy or surrogate of the USSR in the Third World. The Soviet-Cuban link is assessed in four conflicts: Angola, Ethiopia, Grenada and Nicaragua. It is shown that Cuba is largely an autonomous actor in international relations, and that bilateral influence flows in both directions. Thus Western reaction to Cuban and Soviet activity in the Third World is often based on misperceptions.

The twentieth-century history of Cuba borders on fantasy. This diminutive country boldly and repeatedly exercises the foreign policy of a major power. Although closely tied to the United States through most of its modern history, Cuba successfully defied the U.S. government after 1959, consolidated its own power, and defeated an invasion of U.S.-backed exiles at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. Fidel Castro then brought the world alarmingly close to nuclear war in 1962. Jorge Domínguez presents a comprehensive survey of Cuban international relations since Castro came to power. Domínguez unravels Cuba's response to the 1962 missile crisis and the U.S.-Soviet understandings that emerged from that. He explores the ties that link Cuba to the U.S.S.R. and other Communist countries; analyzes Cuban support for revolutionary movements throughout the world, especially in Latin America and Africa; and assesses the significance of Cuban political and economic relations with Western Europe, Canada, and Japan. Some have charged that Cuba does not have a foreign policy, that Fidel Castro merely takes orders from his Soviet bosses. Domínguez argues that there is indeed a specifically Cuban foreign policy, poised not only between hegemony and autonomy, between compliance and self-assertion, but also between militancy and pragmatism. He believes that within the context of Soviet hegemony Cuba's foreign policy is very much its own, and he marshals impressive evidence to support this belief. His book is based on extensive documentation from Cuba, the United States, and other countries, as well as from many in-depth interviews carried out during trips to Cuba.

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.

Forty-six essays, presented by avowedly anti-Castro editors and gathered mostly from US journals and books of the past couple decades, are organized into five sections devoted to the history, economy, society, military, and polity of Cuba. Some of the specific topics treated include: Cuban and Soviet relations; decentralization, local government, and participation; economic policies and strategies for the 1990s; the politics of sports; political and military relations; and forecasting institutional changes after Castro. In addition, two appendices present a chronology of the Cuban revolution from 1959 to 1998 and biographical essays on 19 revolutionary leaders. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Combined with aggressive rhetoric and ideological hostility, the conventional approach to crisis resolution generates only military options and diminishes our prospects for less dangerous solutions. This book explains how a workable, pragmatic, and efficient foreign policy in relation to Soviet-Cuban activities in the Third World can evolve through negotiation, that de-emphasizes ideology. The focus is on problems within less developed countries—problems that provide opportunities for Soviet-Cuban involvement. The book examines several Third World conflicts in which the Soviet Union and Cuba are involved (The Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Southern Africa, and the Commonwealth Caribbean) and suggests a pragmatic policy tailored to each regional conflict. An objective assessment of Soviet-Cuban activities discovers opportunities for cooperation and mutual restraint.

This book, first published in 1984, analyses the background to the revolution in Grenada and details the course of its progress, examining the reasons why it faltered and failed. International factors played no small part in these events, setting the agenda for the internal processes of the revolution and bringing it to an end. The book also examines closely the US-led invasion of this tiny island and its aftermath.