Cuban Exceptionalism Revisited

Bert Hoffmann () and Laurence Whitehead

No 28, GIGA Working Papers from GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Abstract: The end of Cuban exceptionalism has been much announced since 1989, but a decade and a half later state socialism on the island is still enduring. Transition studies have been criticized for focusing on success stories. Exploring the deviant case of Cuba's 'non-transition' from a comparative social science perspective can shed light on the peculiarities of this case and, more importantly, test the general assumptions underlying post-1989 expectations of regime change in Cuba. Theories of path dependence and cumulative causation are particularly helpful when attempting to link Cuban current political exceptionalism with a more long-term historic perspective. Moreover, they suggest that interpretations of Cuba as simply a 'belated' case of 'third wave' democratization may prove erroneous, even when the health of Fidel Castro finally falters.

Keywords: Cuba; comparative politics; exceptionalism; socialism; transition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:gigawp:28

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