Harlan Abrahams

This book may be of interest to readers eager to learn more about Cuba, but it is likely too unsophisticated for readers already familiar with Cuban politics, and the main author's particular obsessions are too idiosyncratic for readers who are looking for a quick, coherent introduction. This book contains a lot of information, but suffers from two significant problems. First, it doesn't seem written with a particular audience in mind (expert or novice; Cuban or American); a book on such a controversial topic can't afford to be muddy on that point. Second, the book's structure smothers rather than illuminates its subject.

Books engaged in political analysis usually include an introduction that says what the author hopes to show and what path they'll take to get there. Alternatively, books that take the form of an extended personal essay often skip the roadmap, relying instead on the layering of characters and conversations to build up meaning organically. When well done, the technique allows for non-linear revelations that are harder to convey with a more analytical structure. Raul Castro and the New Cuba splits the difference, with poor results. Multiple chapters recount lead author Harlan Abrahams' trips to Cuba and his interviews with various people there. Unfortunately, he's not a skilled interviewer; he doesn't draw his interlocutors out well. In at least one potentially rich meeting, a friend keeps having to kick him under the table to prevent him from speaking up at the wrong time and shutting down the conversation. Worse, when he recounts his conversations, Abrahams constantly sticks himself in between the reader and the subject, blocking rather than refining our view.

On the other hand, taken as an analytical document, the book desperately needs better structure. Abrahams is a former constitutional law professor, and his worldview is that today's events are driven by three factors: economics, politics, and the rule of law. But this isn't three factors; it's three categories of factors, or three faces by which any given problem can be analyzed. Abrahams applies it relentlessly, and works out the following argument: Cuba will liberalize economically. Economic liberalization may result in political reform, and if it does, ordinary people will want their civil rights. Except the chapters on political reform and legal reform are quite ambiguous, and if one thing seems clear, it's that most - perhaps all - the people that Abraham speaks with don't define or connect the issues the same way he does. So, while some of the interviews are interesting, the book lacks what would really make it useful: a nuanced explanation of how the various Cuban perspectives on reform fit together.

It's possible that was supposed to be the contribution of the co-author, Arturo Lopez-Levy. His personality and biography are moderately interesting, but he was clearly not in control of the analytical structure of the book. In the final chapter, Abrahams says Lopez-Levy should have 'the last word', and then sets in Lopez-Levy's nine-page summary, awkwardly formatted with every paragraph headed by a quotation mark, of Cuba's near term prospects and challenges. Written in an academic style, the section doesn't so much disagree with Abrahams as operate on an entirely different level, both more rigorous and more tedious to read. And then, disregarding his comment about the last word, Abrahams takes the mike back to close out the book once more discussing economics, politics, and the rule of law. I'm not sorry to have read this book, but it is hard to imagine anyone to whom I could strongly recommend it.… (mehr)

I have long been fascinated by U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba. For more than 50 years we’ve had a trade embargo against our neighbor and have classified them as a “terrorist” country — all for the primary benefit of a handful of exiles living in Florida. It is not a good, or even rational policy. Meanwhile, the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) have opened up vast investment opportunities to a country that is only 55 miles from our own shores.
With Fidel Castro ceding control of the Cuban government to his brother Raul beginning in 2006, there is a new opportunity to end this madness. But it is unlikely — at least in the short run.
While I give this book a mixed review — too many narrative accounts and not enough expert analysis — it does discuss some of the possibilities of a post-Fidel Cuba. The role of Raul should not be understated. He appears to have had his role in the Cuban revolution underplayed. His efforts of reform referred to as “gradualism” would appear to be recognition that the half a decade of a Communist economy is nearing its end and that market reforms will take place in incremental steps. Unfortunately, the tight control that the regime still exhibits over the internet and social media would make a “Cuban Spring” unlikely. Our foreign policy has worked in incremental steps as well. One can only hope that we will end the embargo that has been a failure and allow the U.S. market to reap some of the future rewards that investment in Cuba would bring.… (mehr)

The authors weave a personal narrative of experience, knowledge, and wisdom into the events surrounding the succession era in Cuba. At a time when Raul Castro has taken control, some signs of reform are underway.

Throughout the book, the authors spend time in dialog about various issues, including law, market policy, and culture. At times, this dialog weaves a nice voice to the issues, but at others, monologues tend to be overdone.

I'd like to have seen more biography of Raul Castro. We get glimpses of him, especially related to his negotiations with the Soviets, but rarely is he the focus of the narrative.

This is a decent opinion piece by authors who care deeply for Cuba's future and advise a policy of planned, gradual reform. I would like to have seen more actual history and deeper context for the anecdotal experiences. Three stars.… (mehr)