TTLV: US-Cuba Relations (1992-2016)

MASTER'S THESIS INFORMATION

1. Student's full name:Pham Quynh Huong         

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: October 28, 1984

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision on recognition of students No. 3215/2014/QD-XHNV-SDH dated December 31, 2014 of the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

6. Changes in the training process:

7. Thesis topic name:United States-Cuba Relations (1992-2016)

8. Major: International Relations Code: 60.31.02.06

9. Scientific instructor:Dr. Pham Quoc Thanh -Faculty of Political Science - University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

10. Summary of thesis results:

The United States is a country that has always shown its hegemonic ambitions in both the regional and global scope. This foreign policy of the United States has affected Cuba - its neighbor, changing from period to period and it depends on the characteristics and goals of each President in that period. The relationship between the United States and Cuba was previously a confrontational and hostile relationship due to differences in ideology and national interests.

In the current context, when the trend of confrontation is gradually being changed by the trend of dialogue, the US - Cuba relationship also has positive changes. As a result, the US - Cuba normalized relations on December 17, 2014 after 18 months of secret negotiations with the help of the Vatican and Canada - where the secret meeting between the two countries took place. This is the right time to open a new page in the diplomatic relations between the two countries, the US has relaxed the travel ban to this island nation, allowed the establishment of inter-bank relations between the two countries and opened the door for the export of telecommunications equipment, agriculture and construction to Cuba. The reason the United States normalized relations with Cuba at this time was because, first, the United States feared Russia's influence on Cuba, second, the strategic value of Cuba, third, the United States wanted to apply Washington's new strategy towards Havana, although more conciliatory, but still contained the intention of "regime change", fourth, to consolidate its role in Latin America.

The normalization of relations between the two countries not only brings good benefits to both sides, but also impacts relations in the Latin American region and countries around the world. However, besides those benefits, there are still challenges and difficulties. At the end of 2016, President Obama's term ends. Will the next US president continue to address issues related to the relationship between the two countries while the attitudes of the Republican candidates participating in the US presidential election are all against the warming of US-Cuba relations?

11. Practical application:

- Studying the US-Cuba relationship will help decode many issues in international political relations and from there make predictions about the world political situation.

- The thesis will be a reference document for studying and scientific research for students majoring in international relations, political science... and for those interested in international political issues.

12. Further research directions:

US-Cuba Relations: History and Prospects.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

What we see through the "political earthquake" in the 2014 European Parliament elections, Foreign Affairs Magazine, 2014

A New Future for US-Cuba Relations, Foreign Affairs Magazine, 2015

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Pham Quynh Huong 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: October 28, 1984 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: 3215/2014/QD-XHNV-SĐH, Dated December 31, 2014 by the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University Hanoi (VNU)

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: US – Cuba relations (1992 – 2016)

8. Major: international relations Code: 60.31.02.06

9. Supervisor: Pham Quoc Thanh, PhD. Faculty of Political science, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities

10. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

The United States is a country that always shows hegemonic ambitions in the area, and the world. This foreign policy of the United States has affected Cuba - his neighbor, changes in phases and it depends on the characteristics and objectives of the president during that period. Former US – Cuba relations were the confrontational, hostile relationship nature due to the differences in ideology and national interests.

In this context, the trend is gradually changing confrontation into dialogue trend, the US - Cuba relations there are positive changes the US - Cuba relations. As a result, the US and Cuba normalized relations on the date December 17, 2014 after 18 months of secret negotiations with the mediation help of Vatican and Canada - where the closed meeting between the two countries took place. This is the right time to open a new page in diplomatic relations between the two countries, the United States has loosened the ban on travel to the island, which allows establishing inter-bank relationships between the two countries and opens the door for the export of telecommunication equipment, agriculture and construction to Cuba. The reason why the United States normalized relations with Cuba at this time is because: first, the United States fears the influence of Russia on Cuba; second, Cuba's strategic value; third, the United States wants to apply Washington's more peaceful new strategy for Havana, but still implies to change the regime in Cuba; forth, the United States wants to consolidate its role in Latin America.

The normalization of relations between the two countries not only brings good benefits for both parties, but also impacts on the relationships in Latin America and other countries around the world. Besides these benefits there still exists a lot of difficulties and challenges. At the end of 2016, President Obama ends his term, whether the next president of the United States can continue to address the issues related to bilateral relations, while the Republican representative candidate in the US presidential election opposes the warming of US – Cuba relations?

 11. Practical applicability, if any:

- Researching the relationship between the US and Cuba will help decipher a lot of issues in international political relations, and on the basis it is possible to give the forecast to world politics.

- The thesis will be the document of reference for learning, studying for students of international relations, political sciences,... and for those who are interested in international political issues.

12. Further research directions, if any:

US – Cuba relations: history and prospects.

13. Thesis-related publications:

-What do you see through the "political seismic" in the European parliamentary election in 2014, Foreign magazines (2014)

-A new future for US – Cuba relations, Foreign magazines (2015)