Looking Forward: Comparative Perspectives on Cuba's Transition - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0268038910 ISBN 13: 9780268038915

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 2007

Synopsis

In Looking Forward, Marifeli Perez-Stable and her colleagues imagine Cuba's future after the "poof moment"―Jorge I. Domínguez's vivid phrase―when the current regime will no longer exist. Written in an accessible style that will appeal to all interested readers, this volume does not try to predict how and when the Castro regime will end, but instead considers the possible consequences of change. Each chapter―prepared by an expert in the field―takes up a basic issue: politics, the military, the legal system, civil society, gender, race, economic transition strategies, social policy and social welfare, corruption, the diaspora, memory, ideology and culture, and U.S.-Cuba relations.

The author of each chapter considers three questions: How have other new democracies handled the basic issue in question? How might Cuba's unique conditions affect this area in transition? What are the likely outcomes and alternatives for a Cuba in transition? Designed with students, policy-makers, and journalists in mind, this lively and accessible volume is an essential resource.

About this title

About the Author

Marifeli Pérez-Stable is vice president for democratic governance at Inter-American Dialogue and professor of sociology at Florida International University. She is author and editor of a number of books, including The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy.

From the Back Cover

"This is the most important book about Cuba to appear in a generation. A group of 'not-your-usual-emigres' and other experts who have taught us most of what we already know about contemporary Cuba have performed an extraordinary service to the policy and academic communities--and their patria--in imagining Cuba's future after Fidel. Building on their diverse expertise in politics, economic reform, civil-military relations, social policy, race, gender, and cultural relations, and drawing from models around the world of regime transitions gone wrong and right, their compelling essays project Cuba's recent past onto its immediate future and lay a blueprint for a free, democratic, and just society. There is quite simply no book like it." --Frances Hagopian, Michael Grace II Associate Professor of Latin American Studies, Kellogg Institute for International Studies
"Fidel Castro's illness and the transfer of power to his brother Raul in July 2006 have opened speculation about Cuba's future as never before. In this extraordinary collection of essays, noted scholars explore multiple scenarios regarding the island's future, based on a comparative understanding of outcomes in Latin American and Eastern European transitions. The result is an influential book that will shape our collective understanding of Cuba for many years to come." --Dr. Cynthia J. Arnson, Director, Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
"When Fidel Castro is gone, Cuba will change. Whether change is peaceful or violent--or for good or ill--will depend on whether we take the lessons offered in Perez-Stable´s collection of essays from the very best experts on Cuba. If there is to be a happy ending, then Looking Forward offers the best map yet on how to get there." --U.S. Ambassador (retired) Vicki J. Huddleston

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0268038910
• ISBN 13: 9780268038915
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 354
• Editor: Perez-Stable Marifeli