The United States of America and Cuba: World Structure and International Support for the Cuban Embargo

With Fidel Castro’s takeover of the Cuban government in 1959, Cuba’s relationship with the United States deteriorated significantly. Since 1962, the United States has maintained a comprehensive trade embargo on the communist Caribbean state, despite criticism from the international community, including the closest partners of the only remaining superpower. As the most frequent imposer of economic sanctions, the United States has employed this coercive measure unilaterally on the Cuban government, ignoring calls from allies and adversaries alike to end the embargo. This thesis investigates the role that world structure has on support for the U.S. embargo against Cuba, and what implications this has on the future role the United States will play on the international stage as the world shifts to a multipolar world structure.