Introduction to International Politics

Foreign Event Analysis

Locale[]
Cuba
Title
To End or Not to End the U.S. Embargo on Cuba? That is the Question.
Summary
Per Cuba’s request, the United Nations General Assembly voted for the seventeenth consecutive time on the issue of ending the economic and commercial embargo on Cuba that the United States has followed since 1962. The Cuban chancellor Felipe Pérez Roque compared the United States’ embargo to genocide of the Cuban people because of the poverty and economic distress caused by the United States’ refusal to interact with Cuba. One hundred ninety-two countries voted to end the embargo and only three, including the United States, voted to continue the embargo.
Analysis
Roque, the Spanish media, and the Cuban media have all taken on liberal perspectives in their analyses of this event. All three argue that by refusing to interact with Cuba, the United States is only causing harm to itself and Cuba by continuing an outdated policy that lacks relevance in the Post-Cold War Era. According to the liberal perspective, increased interactions including trade, commerce, and diplomacy, increase interdependence and improve relations between states. Therefore, by refusing to interact with Cuba, the United States is forgoing improvement of relations not only with Cuba, but also with other international actors who follow the liberal policy of being open to all states as a means of ensuring peace.
The article from Cuban news source Prensa Latina also claims that by refusing to engage in relations with Cuba, the United States is undermining the principles of the United Nations Charter that stress normative relations between member nations as well as the widely accepted international policy of freedom of trade. The United Nations emphasizes the liberal belief that “a rising tide lifts all ships,” meaning that prosperity in one nation is good for all nations, a belief obviously espoused by the 192 nations that voted for the termination of the embargo. They believe that only benefits can come out of trade relations between the United States and Cuba, and only damages can come out of the continuation of the embargo such as poverty and hunger in Cuba.
Perspectivel
Liberal
In-Region URL
http://www.prensalatina.com.mx/article.asp?ID={80B12F24-5277-4915-8324-D19796BF08F3}
Out-of-Region URL
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/10/29/internacional/1225311977.html
Submitted
October 30, 2008 at 7:23 pm