For my thesis, I have proposed to evaluate how shifts in economic embargoes over time have correlated with changes in Cuban government policies and with changes in economic realities among the population. The project will examine the span of time from the Carter administration to the Trump administration. I hypothesize that eras with strengthened economic embargoes also had increases in poverty. I also expect to find that the strengthening or loosening of economic sanctions had much less impact on Cuban government policies and practices. If so, economic sanctions effectively target the nation’s most vulnerable populations more than the government. This research will contribute to scholarship on “soft power” in international relations, adding a humanitarian perspective.
