Moscow-Havana Relations. Continuities of the Past in an Asymmetric Triangle

Abstract

This article examines Moscow-Havana relations from the Russian Revolution in November 1917 to the present to inform debates on (1) continuities from history impacting contemporary Russian foreign policy; (2) the assumption that before the Cuban Revolution of 1959 Moscow suffered from ‘geographical fatalism’ concerning Latin America; (3) contemporary Moscow-Havana relations; and (4) asymmetrical triangles in international relations. A rigorous historical qualitative analysis of primary and secondary sources is used to examine the periods November 1917–January 1959, 1959–1991, and 1992 onwards. Both realism and constructivism are utilised throughout. Acting as a bridge between historical research and the study of international relations this article posits that in each period Moscow and Havana’s individual relationships with Washington were key to Moscow-Havana relations. Continuities from history for the contemporary relationship are to both the November 1917–January 1959 era and the 1959–1991 period. Consequently, since 1917 an asymmetrical triangle comprising Moscow, Havana, and Washington has principally existed. Aiding its originality this article postulates that a ‘stable marriage’ with the most powerful member of an asymmetrical triangle (Washington) being the ‘pariah’ can become the norm. This finding has resonance for global politics and the behaviour of regional superpowers within their respective region.