ABSTRACT
The transfer of power from Fidel to Raúl Castro in 2008 marks the beginning of a new era but also presents a puzzle, considering that it was between two very close brothers and lifelong political allies committed to revolutionary transformation. This was the first leadership transition in the fifty years of the Cuban revolution. Is the younger Castro’s active pragmatism and support for reforms sufficient to view his ascent to the presidency as likely to set the island on a new course? Perhaps, though the historical context has helped make it into a turning point. This chapter explores the internal as well as external conditions that shaped this critical juncture in Cuban history. To put the new Cuban dynamics in perspective, this chapter briefly places the emerging approach in the historical context of previous shifts in the evolution of socialism on the island. Second, it draws in broad strokes the redefined global context shaping the island’s post-Soviet reintegration efforts. My conclusion of this volume will draw on this contextual analysis to consider some challenges and opportunities informing the search for useful theoretical accounts of Cuban dynamics.
