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Cuba in Transition? The Civil Sphere's Challenge to the Castro Regime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Gerardo Otero  and
Janice O'Bryan
Gerardo Otero
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University
Janice O'Bryan
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, with a specialization in Latin American studies
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Abstract

This article assesses how much the emergence of civil society and private market activities are challenging Cuba's ruling communist regime. The assessment is based on a conceptualization of a “civil sphere,” constituted by civil society and private market activities (or the “second economy”), and how this affects democratic transitions from state-socialist societies, using Cuba as a case study. Examining the multiple sectors at play reveals an increasingly organized and vocal opposition, but one hampered by continued government repression. Considering several theoretical and historically possible scenarios, this study concludes that under current conditions, the civil sphere's significant challenge is still not enough for a regime change in the Cuban state.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , Winter 2002 , pp. 29 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2002

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