Strange bedfellows U.S.-Cuban cooperative efforts in a post-Cold War world /

by Ziegler, Melanie M.

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS: U.S.?CUBAN COOPERATIVE EFFORTS IN A POST?COLD WAR WORLD by Melanie M. Ziegler This dissertation examines three models of cooperation drawn from international relations literature and identifies the model that best explains post?Cold War cooperative efforts between the United States and Cuba on issues related to immigration, drug trafficking, decreasing tensions around Guantánamo Naval Base, and reducing the threat of accidental war. The first chapter defines cooperation and provides a comparative framework for understanding three models of cooperation that include functional integration, constructive engagement, and confidence?building measures (CBMs). The next four chapters present each case in detail, apply the framework, and subsequently determine the model that best explains U.S.?Cuban cooperation as it relates to each case. The final chapter summarizes all of the previous findings, reviews the current state of cooperation between Cuba and the United States, and offers suggestions as to how the two countries might further cooperative efforts in the future.