Abstract
My research explores how Cuban Socialism managed to survive into the modern post-Cold War era, and how the Island of Cuba continues to remain a living example of socialism. My thesis seeks to center the transformative decade of the “Special Period” in order to articulate the human sacrifice of the Cuban people in their effort to realize the survival of Cuban sovereignty, and navigate the realities of a newly emerging hegemonic world system. By exploring the geo-political climate , imperial histories, and the vying cultural tides amongst the Cuban people, my project looks to center the Special Period not simply as a period of stagnation, but of grassroots rebellion against empire.