Twelve Monkeys : Cuban National Defense and the Military

There is little that may be written about the Cuban regime, other than about its very nature, that is not quickly contradicted by reality. At the same time, the Cuban leadership's approach to the Lampedussa riddle is a lot of running in place and no real discontinuity. Which is actually more relevant? Is it possible to come to some sensible conclusions about contemporary Cuba? But readers beware: in Cuban politics anecdotes and events always suggest contradictory patterns. Discussion of matters present and future requires that these contradictions be considered jointly. This is what a brilliant essay of Antonio Benitez-Rojo alerts us to when he dwells on "a country that repeats itself." Taking this warning to heart, this essay has a very modest aspiration: to describe how some strategic principles that are central in the thinking of Cuban leaders create contradictions affecting national defense policy and civil-military relations in Cuba. Implicit is the desire that the exercise may be helpful to anyone forced to speculate about this topic and/to a more general audience interested in a deeper and more informed understanding of Cuban national security and of the defense doctrine that serves its basic purposes. The objective is a clear statement identifying the principal features of national defense and civil-military relations in Cuba, and of how they relate to one another.</p

Factors Underlying Venezuelan Defense Expenditures: 1950-83: A Research Note

Arms Control, May 1986.Refereed Journal Article'A country's military expenditures', the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency points out, 'are not necessarily representative of military capability.' They do not define a country's efficiency and allocation of expenditures or 'whether the quantity and quality of force supported by them serves national purposes

Where Does Cuba Stand?

Given the potential explosiveness of the Cuban crisis and the possibility that it might lead to U.S. military involvement, it would seem appropriate to take a closer look at the Cuban situation. In particular, we need a better understanding of those forces promoting both political stability and instability. In this report, the distinguished Latin American scholar Enrique Baloyra argues that Castro\u27s current policy of re-equilibration is unlikely to succeed and that his options will increasingly boil down to two choices: One, he can deepen the process of government-led reform, or, two, he can continue the current policy, with growing chances of violence and turmoil. Baloyra suggests that since the former might jeopardize his hegemonic position, the latter is the more probable option. The future, in short, is likely to be grim.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1273/thumbnail.jp