Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 07/2013

The Politics of Cuban Transformation – what Space for Authoritarian Withdrawal?

Vegard Bye

June 2013

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

Abstract

The Cuban society is undergoing deep changes, more than fifty years after the Revolution and the same number of years with a Castro government. The focus of study is mostly on economic reforms. But economic transition also has great impact - gradually manifesting itself - on the entire political system. The direction of these changes is still quite unclear. In this Working Paper, "The Politics of Cuban Transformation - what Space for Authoritarian Withdrawal?", NUPI Research Fellow Vegard Bye analyzes the choice of direction and some scenarios in the political transformation process.