Engaging Closed Societies through International Arbitration

This Article argues that Cuba's so-called "internationalization revolution" was ill-predicted because it was based on a faulty premise: that the foreign investment laws of the 1990s constituted a marked shift in Cuba's engagement in the global marketplace. While there is no doubt that investment in Cuba has increased since the implementation of the international investment laws, the laws contain little more than a natural outgrowth of ideas from Cuba's longstanding commitment to commercial arbitration in both the domestic and international contexts. This Article reviews the evolution of Cuba's engagement in international arbitration spheres to demonstrate that the changes of the 1990s could not have had a major impact on Cuba's political economy. The principal point this Article makes is that aesthetic changes in the domestic legal landscape did not and could not alter the course of Cuba's external relationships in such a way as to effect the anticipated major social reform and development. Recognizing this limitation provides counsel for other closed societies and transitional economies as to what is important for development