The Narcissism of Small Differences in Cuba’s History

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 449 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. The Narcissism of Small Differences in Cuba’s History (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

A man was standing on a cliff about to jump when another man yelled: Stop, don’t do it!  Jumper: Why shouldn’t I? Second man: Because there is so much to live for! Jumper: Like what? Second man: Are you religious? Jumper: Yes Second man: Me too. Are you Christian of Buddhist? Jumper: Christian. Second man: Me too. Are you Catholic or Protestant? Jumper: Protestant. Second man: Me too. Are you Episcopalian or Baptist? Jumper: Baptist. Second man: Great. Are you original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God? Jumper: Reformed Baptist Church of God Second man: Me too. Are you reformation of 1879, or reformation of 1915? Jumper: Reformation of 1915. Second man, while angrily pushing jumper off the cliff: Die, you heretic scum! I came across this witticism while researching Sigmund Freud’s theory of the “Narcissism of small differences.” In his thesis, Freud argues that “It is precisely the minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that form the basis of feelings of hostility between them.” He called this phenomenon the narcissism of small differences. In political science, the narcissism of small differences offers on explanation as to why communities with similar ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds, and often in adjoining territories, tend to engage in feuds. In many cases of ethno-nationalist conflict, the deepest hatred is shown by communities that, by most appearances, exhibit very few significant distinctions. For instance, the violence in Kyrgyzstan between the Uzbek and Kyrgyz populations, the toxic confrontations in the Punjab, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, and in Belgium between French and Flemish-speaking Belgians; the cruelty of the Balkan Wars, the Hutu and Tutsi viciousness in Rwanda and Burundi, the Iranian Shiite-Sunni conflict, and many more. Of course, once a conflict begins, other differences and topics act as multipliers for the hostility. With his narcissism of small differences, Freud gave us an analytical framework, but not much more of a causal explanation. It has been suggested that the distress is narcissistic in nature because it is as if we are looking at ourselves in a mirror. I have come to think of the narcissism of small differences when contemplating schisms in opposition movements, particularly in Cuba’s history from the wars for independence of the 19th Century to the last six decades of opposition to the Castro regime. Some episodes, such as the shameful abandonment of Cuban patriot Carlos Manuel de Céspedes by his compatriots, had tragic consequences. Céspedes, who in 1868 freed his slaves and launched Cuba’s Ten Years’ War, was later deposed in a leadership coup. The new Cuban government would not let him go into exile and denied him an escort. Left unprotected, Spanish troops killed him in 1874. Cuban opposition to the Castro regime, since its origins in 1959, has been fragmented, made up of myriad groups lacking in operational unity. Often the schisms had political or philosophical underpinnings, but also resulted from tactical differences, revanchism, and personal ambitions for protagonism. This disunity perseveres to this day, often initiated or exploited by Cuba’s ever-present counterintelligence services. But these are all Cuban nationals that tragically fight each other viciously, notwithstanding an overriding common objective of opposition to communist ideology. Is this a manifestation of the narcissism of small differences? Understandably, opposition groups cannot aspire to agree on the whole of their diverging political- economic programs. But, as was the case with the Founding Fathers, it is necessary to work together with those who may have different political ideas but who are willing to unite over specific issues and rights. Rather than a criticism, Freud’s narcissism of small differences offers opposition groups a template for constructive introspection. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

Reflection on the Geneva Summit

Reflection on the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy seventeen years later

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest”. – Elie Wiesel

Freedom and human rights have been declining for 20 years. Ninety one autocracies outnumber the 88 democracies in the world after 25 years of an autocratization wave.

Universal human rights are in a deepening crisis in 2026. The post-World War II architecture is under sustained attack, enforcement is uneven and weakening, yet the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) remains an enduring aspirational standard.

This grim reality brings human rights defenders from Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Cuba, Hong Kong, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Uganda, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe to the Geneva Summit this year.

In these societies, fundamental rights face systematic assault.

Yet these are not the darkest times.

The UDHR emerged in 1948 from the Holocaust’s horrors—the failure of nation states to protect their own citizens. The failure of the Westphalia system.

It was not the great powers but Latin American nations, including Cuba, that led the push to challenge the failed system.

In February 1945, at the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace in Mexico City’s Chapultepec Castle, Cuban diplomat Dr. Gustavo Gutiérrez y Sanchez presented detailed drafts: a “Declaration of the International Rights and Duties of the Individual” and a “Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Nations.” These, from his book La Carta Magna de la Comunidad de Naciones, influenced Canadian diplomat John Humphries and the UDHR.

Gutiérrez, born in Camajuaní, Cuba, in 1895 and dying in Miami exile in 1959, helped shape Cuba’s 1940 Constitution. Over the course of his life he was a diplomat, jurist, and scholar—now often the “forgotten man.”

Mary Ann Glendon, in 2008, highlighted Latin America’s role, spotlighting charismatic Cuban delegate Guy Pérez Cisneros, whose advocacy bridged ideals and reality. His son Pablo recounted the stark contrast between that democratic Cuba and today’s repressive regime.

Since 2009, the Geneva Summit has given Cuban democrats a platform to bypass censorship and challenge the dictatorship’s narrative at the UN. Seventeen have spoken; here are some key voices:

• Regis Iglesias Ramírez: Varela Project organizer and Christian Liberation Movement spokesperson, imprisoned over seven years in the 2003 Black Spring crackdown for nonviolent reform advocacy. He addressed the Summit in 2013 after his 2010 release.
• Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina: Founder of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, repeated prisoner of conscience enduring hunger strikes for rights and university reform. Exiled after 2011 release, he spoke in 2012.
• Manuel Cuesta Morúa: Social democratic dissident, founder of Arco Progresista and leader of #Otro18 for pluralistic elections and racial integration.
• Rosa María Payá: Founder of Cuba Decide, pushing a binding plebiscite for democracy; global advocate for investigation of her father Oswaldo Payá’s 2012 murder. She first spoke in 2013 and now serves on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
• José Gabriel Ramón Castillo: Founder of the Independent Institute of Culture and Democracy, Varela Project promoter; sentenced to 20 years in Black Spring, exiled to Spain in 2008. He addressed the Summit in 2009 and 2010; he passed in 2018.

The UDHR and UN Human Rights Council arose from nation-state failures; UNWatch, and the Geneva Summit arose due to UN shortcomings. It is fitting that Cuban democrats helped birth the UDHR and continue today through the Geneva Summit advancing universal rights through nonviolent resistance—honoring their legacy while confronting today’s challenges to human rights and freedom.

The live broadcast of the 18th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy will begin at 4:00am Eastern Standard Time. Exiled Cuban dissident Yunior Garcia will be speaking at 9:20am.

 

 

 

Full article

 

 

Center for a Free Cuba 417 West Broad Street, Suite 204 Falls Church, VA 22046

Cuba’s Bizarre Soft Power

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 448 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon. Cuba’s Bizarre Soft Power (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

Hard and soft powers are two types of foreign policy tools that nations use to exert influence in their relations with other countries. Hard power, the predominant tool and measure of a nation’s power, involves the use of military and economic clout to influence the political behavior of other nations. Hard power is a coercive approach to international relations which Harvard University professor Joseph Nye describes as “the ability to use the carrots and stick of economic and military might to make others follow your will.” Hard power relies on the quantity and quality of a country’s resources: its population, territory, military strength, economic power and natural resources. Hard power focuses on the threat or use of force, or economic means to achieve political goals. In contrast, soft power, a term coined by Professor Nye, denotes the ability to shape the preferences of other nations through co-optive appeal rather than through coercion. Soft power relies on affinities in culture, politics, values, or foreign policies. According to Nye, “A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries—admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness—want to follow it.” Cuba, since its 1959 Cuban Revolution, has exercised hard and soft power worldwide disproportionately in excess of its resources and capabilities. In the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, with the support of the Soviet Union, Cuba exported its brand of military revolution throughout the developing world to foment and aid Marxist uprisings. As early as 1961, Cuba introduced military advisors in Africa, and in 1965 Che Guevara was sent to train and lead an insurgency in the Congo. The uprising failed, but two years later Guevara was again active in Bolivia, where he was captured and executed. Cuban elements were also involved in the Vietnam War reportedly with an engineering battalion that maintained a major enemy supply line into South Vietnam. Brutal Cuban interrogators also worked in prisons in Hanoi. The Cuban military also joined Syria and Egypt in their 1973 surprise invasion of Israel. The Castro government dispatched 4,000 combat troops along with tank elements to fight against Israel. In 1975, Cuba launched a large-scale military intervention in support of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola with more than 25,000 troops. In 1977, the Castros dispatched 15,000 Cuban troops along with armored vehicles, and artillery to help Ethiopia’s ruling party in its conflict with Somalia over the disputed Ogaden region. Cuban troops intervened in Angola once again in 1988. This time troop levels reached 55,000 and included MIG-23 fighter-bombers with Cuban forces fighting South African forces in intense conventional combat. To this we can add extensive incursions by Cuban operatives in the Caribbean and Latin America and the current massive deployment of Cuban personnel in Venezuela. To fully appreciate the disproportionality of this use of hard power consider at what cost Cuba, with a population of eleven million and a GDP per capita 100th in world rankings, has maintained this level of military interventionism for six decades. For reference, the Unites States’ 2003 invasion of Iraq, consisting of 21 days of major combat operations, is estimated to have cost the U.S. economy over two trillion dollars. But the most bizarre aspect of Cuba’s foreign policy is its highly successful projection of soft power which continues to this day. Cuba presents a discredited ideology and a bankrupt economy. The Cuban revolution transformed, what in 1958 was one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America, into an enormously repressive and pauperized dysfunctional state from where 20% of the population has fled. According to the “Freedom in the World” report, Cuba scores in the worst-of-the-worst categories for political rights and civil liberties. The regime possesses none of the virtues of soft power. Socioeconomically, Cuba offers nothing to emulate, admire or aspire to. Discredited Cuba should not be able to exercise any soft power. And yet, we constantly witness support for the Cuban government in international forums, and the sickening, incomprehensive sycophancy of world leaders towards the Cuban leadership. This perversion is about the only success of the Cuban Revolution. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future.