ABSTRACT
Revolutionary conflicts attract the attention of the superpowers because ideological solidarity is an instrument of international hegemony. The origins of the Cuban exodus lie in its pre-revolutionary history. Cuba’s dependent social and political structure constituted the target of a revolutionary movement that sought to improve the status of the subordinated classes. The leaders of the Cuban revolution treated persons who refused to adapt to the new order in ruthless fashion, but they generally did not invoke state brutality and extermination. US foieign-policy actions also contributed to the post-revolution exodus from Cuba. Nationalist revolutions are energized by the perceived need to overthrow foreign domination as a fundamental prerequisite for introducing radical political and social change. Many Asian military personnel participating in the US Defense Department’s International Military Education and Training Program between 1950 and mid-1980 came from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. The armed forces played the decisive role in the overthrow of the imperial regime in the Ethiopian case.
