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The Unmaking of an Embargo University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Spring 5-13-2016 The Unmaking of an Embargo: How Policy Entrepreneurs at the Individual, State, and National Levels are Creating New Paths for Policy Change in Modern United States-Cuba Relations Kyle C. Griffith The University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the International Relations Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Political Economy Commons, Public Policy Commons, Transportation Commons, Urban Studies Commons, and the Urban Studies and Planning Commons Recommended Citation Griffith,yle K C., "The Unmaking of an Embargo: How Policy Entrepreneurs at the Individual, State, and National Levels are Creating New Paths for Policy Change in Modern United States-Cuba Relations" (2016). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 2148. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2148 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Unmaking of an Embargo: How Policy Entrepreneurs at the Individual, State, and National Levels are Creating New Paths for Policy Change in Modern United States-Cuba Relations A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Studies Urban Planning by Kyle Griffith B.Sc. University of Miami, 2008 M.Sc. Drexel University, 2012 May, 2016 © 2016, Kyle Griffith ii Acknowledgements What a journey! I would have never reached this point without the help of my family, friends, and colleagues. First I would like to thank my dissertation committee: Dr. Bethany Stich, Dr. David Gladstone, Dr. John Renne, and Dr. Jeffrey Ehrenreich. As my committee chair, Dr. Bethany Stich supported me as my topic went through many transformations. Throughout the process she was patient and supportive and my dissertation is stronger for it. I will keep her advice with me as I move into the next phase of my career. Many thanks to the rest of my committee Dr. David Gladstone, Dr. John Renne, and Dr. Jeffrey Ehrenreich for being flexible and encouraging of my work. Your perspectives have surely improved the final results of this dissertation study. To my family, Barbara, Kailin, Craig, and Carl Griffith, I am amazed at the moral support you continue to provide me even after all these years of schooling. I promise this is the last one... But I want to give a special thanks to my mother, Barbara, for showing me the meaning of self- respect, hard work, and teaching me to be a good person. To Kailin, I want to say thanks for listening when I needed it and that I am proud of you for all of your accomplishments. I want to thank my brother Dr. Craig Griffith, who is a trailblazer. He showed me how to be an adult and he showed me that pursuing a PhD was both possible and desirable. It has been one of the best decisions of my life and I owe him a lot for setting a great example. I would like to thank my father, Carl, for sharing his time and knowledge. Thank you to my partner Eleonora Morganti, these past two years have been a special time in my life. Your advice, encouragement, and love were instrumental in completion of this dissertation and all I can say is mille grazie! A big thanks to Delinda Swanson, David Lambour, and Carol Short for being great colleagues and friends. You really made me feel welcome at University of New Orleans and were instrumental in my progress through the program. Thanks to Dr. Anna Hackman and Dr. Zhumin Xu for their helpful feedback on my manuscripts and Dr. Renee Bourgogne for her advice on how to navigate the doctoral program. My sincerest gratitude goes to Peter Webb and his family for sharing a piece of their lives and culture with my family and I. Thanks to the Port of New Orleans for their insights into the freight world. I would also like to thank the United States Department of Transportation Dwight D Eisenhower Fellowship program and the UNO Latin American Studies Travel Grant for their significant financial support of this research. I want to say thank you to Amanda Athey in the UNO Graduate School for being so helpful and ensuring that I had a positive doctoral experience. Lastly, I am forever indebted to my study participants in the United States and Cuba for sharing their experiences and perspectives with me. iii Table of Contents List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ viii Chapter 1 .........................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................1 Research Problem ...............................................................................................................6 Purpose of Study .................................................................................................................7 Dissertation Overview ........................................................................................................7 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................................10 Literature Review ....................................................................................................................10 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................................44 Methodology ...........................................................................................................................44 Research Question ............................................................................................................44 Research Design ................................................................................................................46 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................................56 History of the Cuban Economy ...............................................................................................56 Chapter 5 .......................................................................................................................................76 A Policy in Flux, Away from Economic Embargo .................................................................76 Policy Entrepreneurs at the Individual Level ....................................................................76 Policy Entrepreneurs at the State Level .............................................................................94 Policy Entrepreneurs at the National Level .....................................................................105 Chapter 6 .....................................................................................................................................117 Discussion .............................................................................................................................117 Conclusions ...........................................................................................................................126 References ...................................................................................................................................128 Appendices ..................................................................................................................................137 Appendix A: interview guide (English 1, English 2, Spanish) ............................................137 Vita ..............................................................................................................................................141 iv List of Figures Figure 1. Street repair crews fixing Avenida 20 de Mayo .........................................................2 Figure 2. Estadio Latinamericano, baseball stadium in Havana, Cuba .....................................3 Figure 3. Paint crews at work on Avenida 20 de Mayo .............................................................3 Figure 4. Basic model of Capitalism........................................................................................13 Figure 5. Map of Gulf
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