Diplomatic relations: US and Cuba’s quiet revolution

Diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba have been officially restored after more than 50 years, ending decades of enmity between the two countries.

Following Fidel Castro’s revolutionary coup, diplomatic ties were severed by president Dwight Eisenhower in 1961, the same year that Barack Obama was born.

The rapprochement was announced on December 17, as Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, agreed to end their countries’ estrangement and put them on track towards a full normalisation of relations.

It reflects a growing maturity on behalf of the US in particular, and a recognition that decades of trying to change Cuba’s communist regime through isolation, blockades, and an economic embargo failed.

It also reveals a change in American foreign policy that could be Obama’s most enduring legacy. Last week, the White House unveiled the terms of a historic nuclear arms agreement with Iran, another long-time US adversary.

However, there remains a deep ideological gulf between the US and Cuba and many issues still to resolve. The Cuban embargo cannot be lifted without the backing of the US congress, which is controlled by Republicans, many of whom are furious at Obama’s move. It will take all of his diplomatic skills to persuade his fellow Americans of the importance of normal relations with one of their closest neighbours.