The Special Case of Cuba

INTRODUCTIONCuba is special, an anomaly in the hemisphere. The most infamous reason for Cuba's outlying status is that this country of n million has had a hostile relationship with the United States for over five decades. For much of this time, Havana was isolated by many other states in the region. Cuba's relationship with Canada is unique in this regard since the ties between Havana and Ottawa were never severed. This bilateral relationship remained distinct despite pressure from Washington and changes of Canadian government. Canada, meanwhile, has maintained its close allegiance with the United States and has attempted at various times to use its friendship with both states to bring the two sides together. Canada has also advocated Cuba's inclusion in the region's international organizations.Given the recent changes within Cuba and the modifications to US policy made by President Barack Obama, this article asks whether Canadian intervention makes sense at this time. The article first reviews the context of the relationship by outlining the changes underway in Cuba and highlighting the place of Cuba in the hemisphere. In doing so it challenges the myth that Cuba is an excluded state, not a full member of the inter- American political system. It also addresses the current status of the conflict and the adjustments to policy toward Havana made by the Obama administration.Second, the article reviews the relationship between Canada and Cuba and reflects on whether Canada is able to enhance the chances of rapprochement between Cuba and the United States or between Cuba and the Organization of American States (OAS). It suggests that while there might have been a window of opportunity for some form of Canadian mediation a few years ago, that window is now closed for a number of key reasons. To begin with, there is no political will in the United States to pursue further normalization with Cuba, and there is no need for Canada to bring either side to the table. Havana and Washington are already talking about a series of issues. Furthermore, although the Canada-Cuba relationship remains on a solid footing, Ottawa has not given priority to the relationship with Havana. Senior Canadian officials are unlikely to raise the issue of Cuba with their American counterparts.Moreover, since coming to power in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has generally either ignored or criticized Cuba, largely supporting the US vis-a-vis Havana. Even if Ottawa displayed a more-amicable attitude toward Havana, Canada is not positioned to take on a mediating role given the new direction of Canadian foreign policy. This article concludes that there is little room for Canada to play a mediating role between the United States and Cuba or between the OAS and Cuba in the near future.CUBA IN THE ACADEMIC LITERATURENo other small state has been the centre of as much international scholarly attention as Cuba. Although most of the foreign literature on Cuba is written by Americans and is focused on Cuba's relationship with the United States, a number of key works have addressed Canada's relationship with Cuba. Most of the literature has stressed the cordial nature of the bilateral relationship. John Kirk, Peter McKenna, and Julia Sagebien's Back in Business: CanadaCuba Relations Afier 50 Years (1995) and Kirk and McKenna's CanadaCuba Relations: The Other Good Neighbor Policy (1997) reflect the generally collegial nature of the relationship during the Chretien era.1 Robert Wright's bestselling, Three Nights in Havana: Pierre Trudeau, Fidel Castro and the Cold War World (2007) addressed the complex personal relationship between Pierre Trudeau and Fidel Castro and revealed new insights into the bilateral relationship. My book, Perceptions of Cuba: Canadian and American Policies in Comparative Perspective (2010) stressed the unique aspects of Canada's policy and compared that policy to American relations with the island.2 Edited volumes, such as those by Heather Nicol (1999), Sahadeo Basdeo and Heather Nicol (2002), and Michele Zebich-Knos and Heather Nicol (2005), also set out to compare the Canadian and American approaches and generally stress the relative camaraderie of the Ottawa-Havana connection. …

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