This volume traces the developments in Cuba following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent definitive demise of state socialism. Topics covered include: the reasons for the persistence of 'the Cuban model,' and an examination of the interaction between elite and non-elite actors, as well as between domestic and international forces.

Chapter 7 The Cuban-American Political Machine: Reflections on Its Origins and Perpetuation -- Chapter 8 Rethinking Civil Society and Religion in Cuba -- Chapter 9 The Knots of Memory: Culture, Reconciliation, and Democracy in Cuba -- Conclusions: Cuban Exceptionalism Revisited -- Notes on Contributors -- Bibliography -- Index

This volume traces the developments in Cuba following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent definitive demise of state socialism. Topics covered include: the reasons for the persistence of 'the Cuban model,' and an examination of the interaction between elite and non-elite actors, as well as between domestic and international forces.

The Spanish-American War focused not only on foreign policy, but also on the nation's very essence and purpose. At the heart of this debate was a consensus on American nationalism. This book explains why the belief in exceptionalism still serves as the basis of American nationalism and foreign policy even in spite of more recent military failures.

In this book, an all-star cast of experts on Cuban Politics critically address the recent past and present in U.S.-Cuban relations in their full complexity and subtlety to develop a perspective on the evolution of the conflict and an inventory of forms of cooperation. This much needed approach provides a way to answer the questions "what has been . . .?" and "what is . . .?" while also thinking seriously about "what if . . .?"

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.

The imaginings, the stories about Cuba, how it is perceived by non-Cubans, depict the island’s inhabitants as emotional and hot-tempered (think Ricky Ricardo saying “¡Mira que tiene cosa’esta mujer!”), fun-loving, politically volatile and revolutionary, overly-romantic and sexually insatiable. The island itself is promoted and loved by non-Cubans because it is considered exceptional, unique and special, because of its people, its post-1959 revolutionary history, and its natural beauty. In this work, written in my own personal, Spanglish voice mixed with my strict academic voice, I first propose a theory of exceptionalism, a simple framework of contextual historical analysis and deep-reading of media and academic material to understand how Cuba, orany nation, is perceived by outside nations and groups, and how such perceptions shape local events and histories. I then provide evidence of how Cuba is consistently depicted as exceptional,unique and special, in the media and in academic work produced from the mid-1800s to the recent present. Then two chapters retell Cuban history through an exceptionalist lens, from pre-Columbian times to 1868; this is the period when Cuba enters the Western imagination and its stature as exceptional develops and takes hold. It is my belief that by understanding why and how Cuba, or any other nation, is positioned as exceptional, unique and special, or not, we can create richer academic work that understands the traditional, two-dimensional narratives about Cuba and Cubans, builds on that understanding to produce more varied, complex, inclusive erudition. Such work can help us understand the great emotional pull that a place like Cuba has on its inhabitants and on non-Cubans as well.