IR 404: International Relations Policy Task Force Rethinking U.S.

-Cuban Relations May-June 2012 Los Angeles, Washington, DC, Miami, and Havana

DRAFT Syllabus

Instructor: Pamela K. Starr, International Relations and Public Diplomacy

Logic of the Course

For over 50 years the relationship between the United States and Cuba has been characterized by tension, mistrust, and often outright hostility. Several times during the last half century changes in the United States, Cuba, or the world created the impression that a thaw in the bilateral relationship might be at hand, yet each time these hopes were dashed. Once again, the possibility of a broader opening between the two countries is again being discussed. The Obama Administrations less belligerent tone regarding Cuban affairs and a softening of attitudes in the Miami Cuban community about the Castro regime seem to have opened another window of opportunity for improved bilateral relations. Indeed, recent shifts in U.S. policy have increased family visits and remittance flows to Cuba and eased academic exchange. Meanwhile, Cuba has transitioned to the post-Fidel era and initiated, albeit very gingerly, limited market reforms.

These developments raise several important policy questions: How serious is each country about improving the bilateral relationship and what might each country do to take advantage of this window of opportunity? What is driving the changes in Cuban-American attitudes and how will these play into the U.S. policy debate? What is the likely future of economic reform in Cuba? What might be the impact of increased remittance flows and limited market reforms on the Cuban economy and the Castro regime? And given these developments, what additional changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba would best promote U.S. policy objectives? There is little doubt that a half century of tensions combined with domestic political realities in each country establish powerful obstacles to any rapid improvement in relations. Yet there also seems to be a real opportunity for small confidence-building measures to have a potentially outsized impact on U.S.-Cuba affairs.

The challenge to the students who enroll in this course will be to develop specific policy measures designed to advance the process of rebuilding bilateral relations and reducing crossborder mistrust. To prepare students for this challenge, the course includes two weeks of study at USC followed by two intensive weeks of field work in Washington, DC, Miami, and Cuba. To promote the process of creative thinking that will be central to the successful completion of the task at the heart of this course, it will be coupled with a parallel course taught by Professor Roberto Suro in the Annenberg Schools professional program in Journalism. The students differing but highly complementary backgrounds, training, and ways of looking at foreign policy challenges should enrich their learning experience and final output in the class.

Content of Course

The course will be divided into three sections. Students will spend two weeks at USC studying Cuba, the history of U.S.-Cuba relations, foreign policymaking, U.S. policy toward revolutionary Cuba, and Cuban foreign policy. This knowledge will prepare them to analyze key moments in the bilateral relationship, the drivers of 50 years of perpetual tension, and the current state of affairs. On this foundation, students will initiate the second phase of the course dedicated to original primary research on the topic. Students will travel to Washington, DC and Miami where they will meet with policymakers, journalists, and academic experts on Cuba and its relationship with the United States to understand better the real world complexities of U.S. relations toward Cuba.

The final segment of the course will take place in Havana where students will live in casas particulars, private homes who rent out rooms to visitors. During their stay they will meet with Cuban government officials, officials in the U.S. interests section, and academics and students at the Center for the Study of the United States at the University of Havana. On the final day of their stay in Cuba, students will put their new knowledge about Cuba to work in a role-playing exercise with students at the Center for the Study of the United States at the University of Havana. This bi-national group of students will be divided into two teams, each half American and half Cuban, one charged with playing the role of Cuban foreign policymakers and the other American policymakers. Their task will be to design a foreign policy strategy that promotes improved bilateral relations without ignoring the real limitations imposed by domestic politics and the regional and international setting. At the end of the exercise, these American and Cuban teams will come together to negotiate the acceptance and implementation of their policy recommendations.

Requirements

A working ability with Spanish is highly recommended for this course. Although many academics and high-level politicians in Cuba speak English, many do not. The capacity of students to carry out research will thus benefit significantly from a working knowledge of Spanish.

The readings and lectures during the first half of the course are essential to successful completion of field research portion of the class. Students are thus required to complete all assigned readings prior to class and to attend all class sessions. For the first two weeks, class will meet four times each week for three hours each session. To encourage students to read these materials carefully and to think about their relevance to their upcoming research in Washington, DC, Miami and Cuba, each student will write two short essays synthesizing and analyzing

several of the assigned readings. These essays will be posted on blackboard so the entire class can access the resulting library of summaries/analyses of the readings to which they can refer to while undertaking their field research. Students will also take a mid-term exam on the readings prior to their departure for Washington, Miami and Havana.

Similarly, students must participate in all the class meetings and discussions during their stay in Cuba. They will also be required to post a daily blog on blackboard reviewing and analyzing each days activities (should internet access be restricted in Cuba, these entries will be posted on return to the United States).

The final project will be a clear and concise policy memorandum of 2500 words that draws on all the distinct sources of information from the course readings, class discussions, interviews in the U.S. and Cuba, and interaction with students at the University of Havana that presents their final policy recommendations to the U.S. government.

Grading

Short essays Mid-term exam Blog Class participation Final project

20% 30% 10% 10% 30%

Books required for purchase

Julia E. Sweig, Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press, 2009.

Daniel Erickson, The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States, and the Next Revolution, New York: Bloomsbury Press, 2008.

Ana Louise Bardach, Cuban Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana, Random House, 2002.

Travel Logistics

Travel and visa arrangements will be noted here once we receive information on visa requirements from the Cuban authorities.

Health and safety information for USC students studying abroad will be provided to all participants in this course. Additionally, the School of International Relations will arrange a meeting with the USC health insurance staff to inform students about insurance coverage and emergency protocols while traveling. Health insurance while in Cuba will be provided by the Cuban government and the cost is included in the price of the airplane ticket as required by Cuba.

Course Topics, Readings, and Activities: USC

May 14: Introduction and Overview Subjects: introducing U.S.-Cuba relations; doing foreign policy analysis; covering international affairs

May 15: History of Cuba and its Relations with the United States to 1970 Subjects: Cuban political and economic development; imperialism versus benign paternalism; US influence in Cuban domestic affairs; resulting bilateral misperceptions/misunderstandings; the revolution and the early years of the Castro government; the impact of the revolution on U.S. policy.

May 16: The United States and Revolutionary Cuba, 1970-1990 Subjects: 1970s-1980s --The political/economic structure of the Castro regime, the role of USSR (imperialism versus benign paternalism again), and Cuban foreign policy; 1990s -- the collapse of the Soviet Union, the special period, and Helms-Burton; 2000s -- the Iraq war and increased U.S. hostility, a new sugar-daddy arises, and Fidel leaves the stage. Readings: Dominguez, a big country foreign policy

May 17: Understanding Transitions Subjects: theoretic literature on transitions; examples of previous transitions from socialist dictatorships; readings on the Cuban transition so far.

May 21: Current Issues in the Bilateral Relationship Subjects: migration, travel and remittances, drugs, security

May 22: Midterm exam

May 23: The Current bilateral relationship

Subjects: Cuba under Raul (why was the transition so easy and what does it mean?), Obama administration overtures, U.S. domestic politics, increasingly nuanced Miami Cuban attitudes, the Venezuela-Cuban nexus

May 24: Review/Prepare Interview Questions

Course Activities: Washington, Miami and Cuba

Washington and Miami

May 27: Fly to Washington DC

May 28: Memorial Day

May 29: Interviews in DC. These might include: Julia Sweig, Director of Latin America Program, Council on Foreign Relations Other academic specialists on Cuba Head of the Cuban Interests Section Roberta Jacobson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Cuba Desk Officer Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chair, House Committee on Foreign Relations Bob Menendez, (D-NJ), Chair, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. Carl Mecham (Lugar) and other key hill staffers responsible for US-Cuba relations

May 30: Morning interviews in DC and afternoon travel to Maimi

May 31: Interviews in Miami Leaders of Cuban American community (histricos); representatives of younger generation of Cuban leaders; academics including Juan Antonio Blanco at Florida International University; journalists

Cuba

June 1: Fly to Cuba

June 1-7: Interviews in Havana Cuban government officials, officials in the U.S. interests section, and academics.

June 8: Role-playing exercise with students at the Center for the Study of the United States at the University of Havana.

June 9: Depart Cuba