FROZEN STRAITS: AN ANALYSIS OF U.S-CUBA FOREIGN POLICY AS A MULTI-LEVEL GAME

This thesis analyses U.S.-Cuban relations through the lens of William LaGrande’s (1998) two level game theory. An historical analysis of the chills and thaws is in U.S.- Cuban relations prior to, during, and after the Cold War suggests that U.S. and Cuban policy makers consistently address both domestic and international concerns before deciding the course of their diplomatic actions. In other words, policy outputs are impacted by lobbyists, sub-national groups, the makeup of Congress, changing international contexts, and other factors not otherwise explained by systems level theories (Neorealism) or ideological differences. Understanding the multiple input factors in U.S. policy helps to explain why little progress has been made in U.S.-Cuban relations more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War.