Graduation Year
2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.A.
Degree Granting Department
Government and International Affairs
Major Professor
Harry E. Vanden, Ph. D.
Committee Member
M. Scott Solomon, Ph. D.
Committee Member
Linda M. Whiteford, Ph. D.
Keywords
Political culture, international relations, proletarian internationalism, constructivism, foreign affairs
Abstract
Since the beginning of the Revolutionary government in Cuba, a comprehensive foreign policy involving medical personal and equipment has been implemented worldwide. Known as medical internationalism, thousands of doctors have been sent to developed and less developed nations in the spirit of solidarity and humanitarian aid. Even more, thousands of students have been given free medical education in Cuba at its world renowned university, the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). Often, no monetary or direct political gain is made by Cuba and the doctors simply receive their normal government salary. While the success of Cuba's medical internationalism is well documented (Feinsilver 1993, Kirk & Erisman 2009), the reasons and guiding forces behind it are much less understood. Based on a Cultural/Political Foreign Policy model created by Marijke Breuning to study foreign policy, this study aims to show that the concept of proletarian internationalism is the guiding principle in Cuba's medical internationalism programs.
Scholar Commons Citation
Fiske, Eric James, "Cuban Medical Internationalism: A Case for International Solidarity in Foreign Policy Decision Making" (2011). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/3724
Included in
American Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, Latin American Studies Commons
