This paper analyses the characteristics of the foreign trade of Cuba with its most important trade partners, from the so-called Special Period which was the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The absence of the Soviet bloc presented Cuba the necessity of structural changes in...

Realism has traditionally not devoted considerable attention to the role of ideas and institutions. Neoclassical realism can respond to this deficit by exploring their impact on the decision-makers as an intervening variable between the international distribution of power and foreign policy....

Parallel to the economic growth and the increase of the living standards in the Eastern bloc the import requirements of its member countries are rising, too. For this reason all Western industrial nations make increasing efforts to establish themselves in these markets with good future prospects...