On Cuban Political Exceptionalism (original) (raw)
Related papers
Cuban exceptionalism revisited
GIGA (German Institute of Global and …, 2006
The end of Cuban exceptionalism has been much announced since 1989, but a decade and a half later state socialism on the island is still enduring. Transition studies have been criticized for focusing on success stories. Exploring the deviant case of Cuba's "non-transition" from a comparative social science perspective can shed light on the peculiarities of this case and, more importantly, test the general assumptions underlying post-1989 expectations of regime change in Cuba. Theories of path dependence and cumulative causation are particularly helpful when attempting to link Cuban current political exceptionalism with a more long-term historic perspective. Moreover, they suggest that interpretations of Cuba as simply a "belated" case of "third wave" democratization may prove erroneous, even when the health of Fidel Castro finally falters.
Cuba in the World, the World in Cuba. Essays on Cuban History, Politics and Culture
Firenze University Press, 2009
Alessandra Lorini and Duccio Basosi, eds. The volume approaches Cuba as a nation that hosts a convergence of extraordinary global developments and, in turn, projects itself onto the world's major cultural, political and economic processes. From different perspectives, ranging from architecture and music to politics and economics, the twenty-one essays presented here embrace the multifaceted interactions between Cuba and foreign imperial strategies during the 19th century, the troublesome formation of national political cultures in the first half of the 20th century, and the multiple global aspects of some of Cuba's choices from the Cold War to the first decade of the present century.
New West Indian Guide, 2007
each approach Cuba through a new lens. Gott does so by providing a broad-sweep history of Cuba, which is epic in scope, attaches importance to social as much as political and economic history, and blends scholarship with flair. Kapcia homes in on Havana as the locus for Cuban culture, whereby cultural history becomes the trope for exploring not only the city but also Cuban national identity. Farber revisits his own and others' interpretations of the origins of the Cuban Revolution. All three are driven by an interest in the Revolution, and yet are drawn to history-Gott from journalism, Kapcia from literature, and Farber from political science. Gott and Kapcia, both British-based, cover five centuries of history since the Spanish conquest, though their strengths lie in the more contemporary period. This is evidenced in the uneven balance of their treatment. Gott devotes less than one-quarter of his book to the pre-868 period, and fully half to the post-953 years. In Kapcia's book, only one of the chapters is pre-twentieth century, and half is on the post-959 revolutionary years. Farber-Cuban-born, U.S.-based-covers a much more limited time frame, 868-96, weaving together a pre-and immediate postrevolutionary analysis. Strikingly, none cites the others' work. Farber's Origins might be viewed as an update of his 976 book, Revolution and Reaction in Cuba, 1933-1960, in light of scholarship of the last thirty