ABSTRACT
State consolidation is the process that follows state crisis. The effect of state consolidation is that it tends to halt the cycle of advancement created by the crisis. In most countries, the twentieth century was not marked by racial progress but mostly by stagnation with only episodic leaps forward and occasional large steps backwards for people of African descent. The chapter presents a dynamic scenario of racial politics that explains two patterns of racial politics: improvement and stagnation. Cuba is known internationally for its relatively harmonious race relations and the sweeping changes brought about by its Marxist/Leninist revolutionary government that took power via a revolution in 1959. The Cuban Revolution and its leader Fidel Castro has been the subject of international controversy since those early days of 1959. The Cuban Revolution is an interesting and powerful case. The US history on racial issues has been important in Castro's attempt to advance the cause of Cuban Nationalism and socialism.
