Introduction

For more than 200 years US policymakers have regarded Cuba’s fate as very much their own concern. This book discusses how relations between the two countries developed after the end of the Cold War, when, from a realist perspective, one might have expected the easing of the US economic embargo in the wake of the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Africa and the collapse of the Soviet-Cuban alliance. Instead, however, sanctions tightened as policymakers in Washington attempted to increase economic pressure in order to bring about Fidel Castro’s downfall. This strategy was not cost-free. Not only did the tougher measures provoke considerable international criticism, but the extraterritorial reach of anti-Castro legislation caused tensions between the United States and its allies. This book seeks to explain why these measures were adopted, with particular emphasis on the domestic factors at play.