Vestiges of the Cold War in Libya’s“Arab Spring”:Revisiting Libya’s Relations with the Soviet Union

Although Muammar al-Qaddafi was known to fanatically adhere to a broad set of zealous principles,when threats and challenges to his political survival mounted,sporadic breaches in the country’s rigid wall of ideology in regard to Libya’s international relations appeared,evincing Qaddafi’s ability to demonstrate pragmatism when required in order to maintain his grip on power.This article will explore Libya’s strategic-military alignment with the USSR and offer a retrospective analysis of one of the lesser-discussed chapters in Tripoli’s tempestuous and belligerent foreign policy during the height of the Cold war era,spanning the period of 1974-1989.

Central Asia’s Foreign Relations:A Comparison Between the Soviet and Post-Soviet Era

Central Asia’s pivotal geographical position allowed it to play an essential role in relations among nations of Eurasia in the Middle Ages,as the bridge between China and Europe.Yet,during the Russian and then the Soviet rule on Central Asia,the region’s republics had no independent position in international community as foreign relations were formed and managed by central government in Moscow.The collapse of the Union of Soviet in 1991 made salient the geopolitical,economic,and cultural importance of the five former Soviet Central Asian republics.Accordingly,the republics reemerged as independent actors in the global interstate system and could play a role in international affairs during the last three decades.This paper aims to compare Central Asia’s foreign relations in the Soviet and Post-Soviet era.

The Revolution’s Result: The Change of Cuban-American Relations During the 1959-1962 Period

Cuban-American relations have become one of the most attractive bilateral relations since the Cold War era.With historical methods and international relations theory,this paper aims to discuss the Cuban Revolution and the change of Cuban-American relations through two issues.One is the Cuban Revolution and the gradual rupture of traditional Cuban-American ties,demonstrating that since Castro’s radical reform of nationalization deeply violated the economic interests of the United States,conflicts and confrontations had already been incurred.At the same time,with Moscow’s intervention,the Cuban Revolution gradually became complicated and sensitive to deal with from Washington’s perspective.The other one is the evolution of confrontation between the Castro revolutionary regime and the United States government during the 1959-1962 period.The Bay of Pigs Invasion rapidly caused political tensions in Cuban-American relations,and soon,the Cuban Missile Crisis institutionalized the escalating confrontation and deeply worsened bilateral relations.As a result,the Castro regime had no choice but to rely on Soviet assistance to maintain a delicate balance with the United States for several decades,which indicated the tragedy of the small nations’destiny.

US Primary Policy Towards Central Asia

The emergence of the Central Asian republics into the international stage presented a new frontier for US policymakers.US involvement in Central Asia began with the collapse of the USSR.Following the collapse of the Soviet Union,Washington initiated official relations with the region’s newly interdependent states.From 1991 until the mid-1990s,the region to some extent was of only marginal importance to the United States.The region was viewed as less important,perhaps because the highest US priority at that time was Russia itself.US policy in Central Asia,was initially based on the“Russia first”principle.However,later on Washington paid special attention to the region and recognised American national interests there.This paper aims to address this main question:To what extent were US interests affected by independence of the Central Asian republics during the initial phase?The paper findings indicate that during the early stage of US engagement in Central Asia,there was no uniformity and strategic framework in Washington approach toward this region.