In 1958 Cuba was the most pro-American (and Americanized) country in Latin America. Today, after more than forty years of Castro's revolution, it is very nearly the lone holdout against globalization, free markets, and democracy in the hemisphere. What drove Cuba to this state? What explains its peculiar fascination for foreigners and Americans alike? What future can the country expect, with or without Castro at the helm? And what problems would a post-Castro Cuba--devalued internationally, shattered and impoverished internally, and resentful at the end of history--represent for the United States?

Mark Falcoff is a resident scholar at AEI. He has taught at major universities, including the Universities of Illinois, Oregon, and California, Los Angeles. Mr. Falcoff was a senior consultant to the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America, chaired by Henry A. Kissinger. He has worked on the staffs of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Council on Foreign Relations. The author of several books, Mr. Falcoff has written Panama's Canal: What Happens When the United States Gives a Small Country What It Wants (1998) and A Culture of It's Own: Taking Latin America Seriously (1998). His new book, Cuba the Morning After, will be published by AEI early in 2003. He also writes a monthly AEI newsletter, Latin American Outlook.

The full lecture, as well as edited excerpts, are available.