The politics of revolutionary development

Civil‐military relations in Cuba, 1959–1976

Bibliographic Data

ID11158181
AuthorsWilliam M Leogrande (0000-0002-3723-8245, American University, corresponding author)
Year1978
Volume1
Issue3
Pages260-294
Publication date1978-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Strategic Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-2390 • E-ISSN: 1743-937X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01402397808437003
OpenAlexW1990713888
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited20

This paper examines the process of building a new political system in revolutionary Cuba, as reflected in the shifing relationship between the armed forces and the communist party. The institution-building process in Cuba was prolonged and difficult, lasting over a decade; this was the result of the unique way in which the Cuban insurrection developed. The Cuban revolution was the first socialist revolution to succeed without a Leninist party in the vanguard of the revolutionary struggle. Instead, the armed forces fulfilled the vanguard role usually played by the communist party. A new party was not inaugurated until 1965, and even then it remained so weak during the 1960's that it was incapable of assuming the directive role in the political process from the armed forces. The paper summarizes the building of the new party, examines the party's weaknesses, and details its relationship to the armed forces during the 1960's. It is argued that the military was not only impervious to party control, but that it wielded considerable influence in the party as a whole

Civil–military relations · Economic history · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Cuban History and Society · History · Law · Political and Social Dynamics in Chile and Latin America · Politics and Society in Latin America