2018 marks the beginning of the post-Castro leadership on the island of Cuba after nearly 60 years of Revolutionary government.
During that period, despite assumptions of monolithic communist policy, the country has witnessed significant changes, predominantly in the conduct of its foreign policy. In this talk, Dr Daniel Biro will follow some of these transformations from the end of the Cold War, marked by what is known as the “Special Period” in the 1990s, the slow demise of Fidel Castro’s leadership in the 2000s, and the reformist leadership of his brother Raoul over the last ten years. The departure of the so-called “historical generation” from the political scene represents a window of opportunity for domestic transformations, but the challenges remain substantial, both domestically (the state of the economy and the diminished authority and legitimacy of the regime) and externally (the accession of the Trump Administration in the United States).
Dr Daniel Biro is a Lecturer in International Politics within the School of Creative Industries at the University of South Australia. His current research revolves around the issue of marginalisation and state deviancy in global politics, and in particular on the agency of the so-called “rogue states” confronted with regional or global marginalisation, such as North Korea, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Belarus and Myanmar. Dr Biro’s education includes a Bachelor degree in Political Science at SNSPA in Bucharest, Romania, and MA degrees in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University in Budapest Hungary and an M.Sc.Econ. in Strategic Studies from Aberystwyth, University of Wales in United Kingdom. In 2011 he was awarded his PhD in Politics and International Relations by the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies at the Australian National University.
Think Global is a monthly series of free public talks with a focus on contemporary politics and international relations. The Centre of Democracy has partnered with Flinders University, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia to share new research and engage with current political debate.
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