A dialogue between religion and politics is always contentious and the Cuban context is no exception. At the center of the debate are questions of boundaries and agency. Should religion institutions also be overt political actors? Are religion doctrines and political convictions complementary or adversarial? In Cuba, the public role of religious institutions also take […]
Cuban Education and Human Capital Formation
Most discussions on Cuban affairs reveal deep seated discords along ideological lines. However, when the conversation centers around educational attainment issues, the tendency is to praise the levels of educational excellence achieved by Cuban students in schools throughout the island. The main criticisms since the Castro government nationalized all schools are usually about the government’s […]
The Arduous Paths of Political Transitions: A Comparison of Cuba, China and Vietnam
Notes1 One of the foremost concerns in the mind of policymakers, pundits, and academics in recent years is the prospects for liberal reforms in developing nations that have experienced social revolutions. To some extent, the pace of reforms put into operation frames their domestic and international identity and builds political capital. The capacity to legislate […]
The Politics of Framing
Notes1 Whether one examines democratic or nondemocratic regimes one thing is certain: all governments need to legitimize themselves. As Gramsci and others have stipulated, legitimacy derives not merely from the effective enforcement of the rule of law or the menacing mechanisms of repression regimes have at their disposal but also from the dissemination of values […]
A Bias for Hope: Migration, Opportunity Cost, and Democratic Coalitions
These brief comments address several pointed ideas raised in Silvia Pedraza’s provocative paper, “Democratization and Migration: Cuba’s Exodus and the Development of Civil Society—Hindrance or Help?,”1 and offer a far-reaching, but nonetheless possible scenario, for a future democratic transition in Cuba. Before I develop these points, I must confess that I regard myself as a […]