ABSTRACT
Cuba's global prominence has been a consequence of its expanding role in the Third World and its efforts to assume leadership in nonaligned circles. It is thus important to trace the evolution of Havana's Third World policies, which can be divided into four broad developmental phases: consolidation of the revolution, 1959-1962; hemispheric fidelismo, 1962-1968; incipient globaiism, 1968-1975; and mature globalism, 1975 onward. Castro's government, like most new revolutionary regimes, was initially concerned with internal problems: consolidating its control and implementing its program of radical social change. The Angolan conflict marked the turning point for Cuban globalism. Whether Cuba's shifts in emphasis to the Caribbean and developmental assistance will enable it to regain its pre-Afghanistan momentum remains to be seen. Within the Nonaligned Movement, to which Afghanistan belongs and whose cause Cuba, as the organization's head, was therefore expected to champion, strong anti-Soviet sentiment emerged.
