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La Transición Cubana y el 'Bloqueo' Norteamericano (Spanish Edition)

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A truly complete study, analyzing as briefly as possible, yet very thoroughfully, the impact of US sanctions on the process of political and social change in the Western hemisphere's last communist stronghold. It is rare to find authors who can write on this topic with so much objectivity - many of them being Cuban American exiles. But Maurizio Giuliano did manage to provide a fully objective, balanced study on this delicate and intricate subject.

Este libro nos presta un análisis balanceado y atento, muy subjetivo y serio, bien lejos de los extremismos de muchos individuos del exilio cubano radicados en Miami. En este libro, un serio académico de relaciones internacionales nos explica una vez más que el embargo de EE.UU. hacia Cuba no es para nada productivo. A pesar de lo que puedan opinar algunos lectores entre esos grupos de derecha, el autor no tiene absolutamente ninguna simpatía hacia el régimen castrista, lo cual queda claro en el libro, pues Giuliano sigue refiriéndose a Fidel Castro como "dictador" y al regimen como un régimen dictadorial y represivo - sin necesidad de utilizar otros adjetivos más emocionales y menos objetivos. Sin embargo, el autor concluye que muy lamentablemente, Fidel Castro ha logrado manejar el bloqueo hacia su propio beneficio, trayendo de él una gran cantidad de legitimidad política entre el pueblo cubano (o aquellos que quedan en la isla), que nace de la apatía y el proceso de 'lavadlo del cerebro' al cual los cubanos son sopuestos. En breve, este excelente estudio nos aconseja de no apoyar el embargo de EE.UU. hacia Cuba, y ofrece toda explicación necesaria para llegar a esa conclusión.

The process of change in Cuba has often been discussed by scholars with a view to the possibility that US sanctions towards the communist island make a transition more difficult. But this has too often been discussed 'out of context', from an international relations theory point of view, without observing and analyzing the specificities of the Cuban case - which resembles no other. The author, a young Oxford graduate, spent over one year in Cuba and became extremely familiar with her politics. In this book he provides a transparent, limpid analysis of how US policies affect Cuba's reform process. He also makes some 'predictions' of possible outcomes, some of which we can already see materialized between 1997 and today.

Es díficil encontrar estudios objetivos sobre el complejo tema de las relaciones entre Cuba y EE.UU. Y cuando se encuentran, muchas veces no resultan ser más que una agregación de unos pocos argumentos ya conocidos, que llevan años en los medios académicos sin haber demostrado tener ninguna validez - mismo vino en la mismas botellas. Sin querer predecir el futuro, este autor en cambio logra llenar las páginas de su breve ensayo con argumentos audaces y perspicaces, creando un denso conjunto de material que nos ayuda comprender la relación entre los cambios en la isla comunista (o falta de ellos) y el embargo de EE.UU. Un tema excelentemente investigado, y excelentemente expuesto sin demasiada pretensión. Se lo aconsejaría a todos quienes quisieran acercarse al tema, sean 'dilectantes', o expertos que quieran ponerse al día sobre las diferentes posibles enterpretaciones y visiones sobre el tema.

In this book, a variety of issues are approached thoroughfully and rigorously, yet in the most concise possible way. For those approaching this subject for the first time, and for experts alike, this book is an invaluable source of information, insights, and analysis. It is filled with sound arguments and interpretations, always accompanied by counter-arguments and alternative views. The author has done a great job in expressing with such fairness and impartiality his views on the Cuba - US conflict, views which are indeed an 'average' of those held by most foreign academics and world governments. Its third chapter, on the impact of the US embargo on Cuba's relations with third countries, is especially interesting and contains a lot of original material. By all means, this book is necessary reading for all those working on the subject.

In this brief yet dense academic study, the author manages not only to expose data and propose his views on the issue, but also to capture the reader's analysis in a way that few very academic books can. While it tells of the intricate relation between the US embargo against Cuba and what happens in the island, the book also tells a lot on the repression of Castro's regime over. With crystal clarity and even some razor-sharp sarcasm, the author manages to identify some crucial features which make Cuban society unique, which can in fact be traced back to the horrible effects of US policy on the Cuban people, ensued by Castro's manipulation of this. All in all, Cuban policy can often be regarded as a big farce. While we condemn Castro's dictatorship or / and the US embargo, and in either case we share the suffering of the Cuban people, this book helps us see all this in a thrilling new light, filled with some witty humour and a good deal of sarcasm, making the book wonderful reading altogether.

In such a short book, with indeed only three chapters besides the introduction and conclusions, the author has managed to put together, in a concise and excellently presented way, the facts and data of which the reader must be made aware, the various possible interpretations of these facts, as well as the author's own interpretations and analysis. The book is an excellent review of existing material on the subject (a great amount of research and critique has obviously gone into it), as well as a wonderful analysis of this material, with the addition of original material from the Cuban media and interviews, and the author's own points of view, which are always presented against any possible counter-arguments. All in all, a great start for anyone who would like to explore the exciting subject of US
- Cuban relations.

The complex domain of US - Cuban relations is changing every day, with new developments on both sides in terms of policy, which in turn affect the Cuban economy, society in Cuba, perspectives for future change, etc. Nevertheless, this book already back in 1997, managed to set an excellent framework on the theme of US - Cuban relations on the long term. Contrary to what one might expect, the fact that five years have now elapsed, has not made this book outdated. On the contrary, we can see indeed that some of the author's predictions became reality. Altogether, even today this remains a great book as a starting point to approach and study this fascinating and ever-changing topic. For sure, a new edition could add some interesting information to this study. Yet, for the purposes it sets itself, this book is still very very up-to-date and topical, and will likely remain so even after Castro is gone. While being an academic book in the field of political sciences and international relations more specifically, this is also a book about history, and as such will be invaluable for scholars of Cuban history at any time.

I have (had to) read many books on Cuba and the US embargo against the island. This short work was not initially one of my priorities, among so many other books by renowned scholars from the US. Yet, as I read it, I discovered a totally new perspective on the subject: this European writer approaches the issue in a way which - I think - no American (and certainly no Cuban-American !) ever could. The latter are rarely objective, while this author certainly is. He condemns Castro's regime and the US sanctions alike, with direct bitter language (as it comes necessary in any academic study with a political orientation, in this case an orientation towards democracy in Cuba and justice in the domain of International Relations). The author, who appears to be extremely familiar with Cuba as well as the island's exile community, does not fear the possible reactions from either side. I have heard him on radio many times, and have been impressed by his highly diplomatic and astute stances -conciliatory and productive. That is something you rarely find among Cuba scholars. This book is at the same time an academic study, and a 'prescription' for solving the two linked problems of democracy in Cuba and the US embargo. If US or other negotiators possessed the objectivity and lucidity of this author, perhaps we would already be a long way towards success in both objectives.