Cuba and the Non-Aligned Movement: Interactions of Pragmatic Idealism C. Russell Riechers, University Honors in International Studies Independent Capstone with Prof. Philip Brenner Fall 2011 to Spring 2012 School of International Service, American University Washington, DC 29 April 2012 Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................2 The Foreign Policy of Post-1959 Cuba .................................................................................................4 Temporal Framework ................................................................................................................................ 4 Perspectives on Cuban Goals and Motivations ......................................................................................... 6 Policies and Specific Events in Cuba’s Foreign Affairs ............................................................................... 8 1959 to 1972: Redefining Cuba’s Foreign Policy ................................................................................... 8 1972-1985: Cuban Globalism .............................................................................................................. 11 1985-1992: The Passing of the Cold War ............................................................................................ 15 1992-2003: Reorientation and Reinsertion ........................................................................................ 16 2003-Present: Re-emerging globalism ................................................................................................ 18 Final Thoughts ......................................................................................................................................... 21 The Non-Aligned Movement ............................................................................................................ 23 Key Concepts ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Non-Alignment .................................................................................................................................... 24 Anti-Colonialism and Self-Determination ........................................................................................... 25 Equality of States ................................................................................................................................ 26 International Solidarity ....................................................................................................................... 27 Peaceful Coexistence .......................................................................................................................... 28 Organizational Structure ......................................................................................................................... 30 Membership Criteria ........................................................................................................................... 31 Consensus Process .............................................................................................................................. 33 Non-Aligned Coordinating Bureau ...................................................................................................... 35 Chairmanship ...................................................................................................................................... 37 Brief History ............................................................................................................................................ 38 Formation and Growth: Bandung to Lusaka ....................................................................................... 38 Economic Activism, Internal Turbulence, and Institutionalization: Algiers to Belgrade ..................... 39 Confronting the Post-Cold War World: Jakarta to Durban ................................................................. 41 Non-Alignment in the New Millennium: Kuala Lumpur to Sharm el Sheikh ...................................... 42 The Future of the NAM: Tehran and Beyond .......................................................................................... 44 Cuba as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement .................................................................................... 46 Round One: A Cuban Chair from 1979 to 1983 ....................................................................................... 46 Summit-related Issues ........................................................................................................................ 47 Post-Conference Issues ....................................................................................................................... 52 Legacy .................................................................................................................................................. 55 Round Two: A New Cuban Chair from 2006 to 2009 .............................................................................. 56 Summit-related Issues ........................................................................................................................ 57 Post-Conference Issues ....................................................................................................................... 62 Legacy .................................................................................................................................................. 64 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 66 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................... 68 Official Documentation of the Non-Aligned Movement (organized chronologically by subheading) .... 68 Summit Documents: ........................................................................................................................... 68 Other Official Documents: .................................................................................................................. 69 NAM Websites: ................................................................................................................................... 70 Other Sources .......................................................................................................................................... 70 Works Consulted ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Abstract Revolutionary Cuba’s foreign policy has long been distinct in both its independence and global perspective. In conducting its foreign affairs, Cuba has followed a counterdependent strategy to balance its disciplined ideology and principles with its pragmatic security concerns. As such, Havana has prioritized multilateral relations with the Global South and sought to build solidarity throughout the Third World. One particularly important route for this is through the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), the largest international body besides the United Nations (UN). Non-alignment, a term pioneered by newly independent India to define its foreign policy response to the Cold War, refers generally to the rejection of military blocs and the associated international politics in favor of more equitable and democratic relations between countries. Operating on consensus, the NAM has begun to put these principles into practice and reoriented global policy through the UN toward issues including economic inequality, cultural preservation, health cooperation, human rights, and peaceful coexistence. As one of NAM’s founding members and, of those, the only Latin American country, Cuba has twice hosted the Movement’s triennial summit of heads of state or government, chairing the Movement until the subsequent summits. Only two other countries, Egypt and the former Yugoslavia which were both integral in founding the NAM, share this distinction. This study examines Cuba’s role in and impact on the NAM. First, it provides overviews of Cuba’s foreign policy following the overthrow of the Batista government and of the NAM itself. Then, the study analyzes Cuba’s two chairmanships of the Movement, from 1979 to 1983 and from 2006 to 2009, which came during the high points of Cuba’s prestige in the developing world and had lasting effects on the shape and direction of the Movement. 1 Introduction The foreign policy of Revolutionary Cuba has long been considered unique in world affairs, not least because of its early rejection of U.S. dominance and its subsequent uneasy yet dependent relationship with the Soviet Union. A central tenet of this policy has been the prioritization of multilateralism and demonstrative solidarity with the Third World.1 An important organ through which Cuba has pursued these goals is the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Founded in 1961 on the rejection of military blocs and their associated international politics, the NAM has consistently advocated peaceful coexistence, democratization of the international system, and equitable and sustainable development, among other things. Embodying the principles