The role of Cuba during the Cold War.

During the heart of the Cold War, the heated focal point of the United States and the USSR shifted away from Europe, Asia and Africa for a few brief tense years, and locked in on one of the US' closest neighboring countries, Cuba. The antagonism that occurred between the US and Cuba during 1959 to 1963 can be largely attributed to the change of regime from Batista to Fidel Castro in 1956, manifested in the arenas of economics, …

…Cuba was deeply rooted in economics, though the political and militaristic aspects of the tension are also inseparable; without scarcity, perhaps none of the conflict would have taken place. Today Cuba remains one of the only communist dictatorships in the world; as to whether or not this is positive for Cuba in the long-haul, and whether or not the US should be more assertive when it comes to Cuban policy making, only time will tell.