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On our countrys volatile relationship with an island nation off Floridas coast, with William M. LeoGrande, professor of government at American University and leading expert on U.S.-Cuban relations.
Profs and Pints DC presents: Cuba, Our Closest Enemy, on our countrys volatile relationship with an island nation off Floridas coast, with William M. LeoGrande, professor of government at American University and leading expert on U.S.-Cuban relations.
The United States and Cuba are fractious neighbors who cant get along but cant move away from one another. From Fidel Castros defiant revolution to Donald Trumps Donroe Doctrine asserting U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere, U.S. relations with Cuba have been acrimonious, tumultuous, and often dangerousmarked by invasion, attempted assassinations, nuclear confrontation, and half a century of economic warfare.
Gain a deeper understanding of relationships between the two countries with Dr. William LeoGrande, widely recognized as one of the nations foremost experts on Cuban politics and U.S. policy toward the island, having authored or edited seven books on the subject, including Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations between Washington and Havana.
Professor LeoGrandes talk will chronicle the trajectory of this unique relationship of perpetual hostility, as Henry Kissinger called it, from confrontations to secret talks aimed at reconciliation.
Well see how Americas playground of the 1950s became a cold war ally of the Soviet Union and how Cuban refugees became a powerful force in American politics. Well look at how the end of the cold war changed U.S.-Cuban relationsor didntand how repeated attempts at rapprochement failed to rebuild the bridges that had burned in the early days of Cubas revolution.
Since Fidel Castro left center stage in 2006, U.S.-Cuban relations have lurched back and forth at stomach-churning velocity. Professor LeoGrande, who has advised Congress on Cuba as a member of its foreign policy staff, will explore the stories behind the headlines. Youll learn how changes from Republican to Democratic presidents produced radical swings in relations between Washington and Havana, most dramatically between President Barack Obamas attempt to normalize relations and Donald Trumps threats to bankrupt or invade the island. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: A Cuban military truck in Havana in 2006 (Photo by Thomassin Mickaël / Creative Commons).
