Paper presented at the International Studies Association Asia-Pacific Region Conference Hong Kong, June 25-27, 2016

Havana and Bandung: Cuban Revolutionary Radicalism and Its Influence on the Non-Aligned Movement

Dr. Theodor Tudoroiu Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science

The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine

Email theodor.tudoroiu@sta.uwi.edu Phone 1(868) 347-7099 Fax 1(868) 663-4948 Mail address The University of the West Indies Department of Political Science Faculty of Social Sciences St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies

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Havana and Bandung: Cuban Revolutionary Radicalism and Its Influence on the Non-Aligned Movement

Abstract

Using the concept of revolutionary totalitarian personality, this paper analyzes the influence of the personality of Fidel Castro on the evolution of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It is argued that post-1959 Cuba became one of the most active and radical 'second generation Bandung regimes' mainly due to the personality traits of its leader. The components of his revolutionary totalitarian personality included a revolutionary spirit, charisma, a narcissistic desire for power and prestige, and an 'evangelistic' foreign policy style. They contributed decisively to Castro's 1965-1968 effort to develop the Bandung Spirit into 'tricontinentalism' and, when this approach failed, made him shift his country's efforts to massive military and civilian assistance to African revolutionary regimes. Ensuing prestige among developing countries turned the Cuban leader into one of the most influential NAM leaders, a position he instrumentalized in order to reshape the movement as the incarnation of a more radical view of the Third World. Keywords: Cuba, Fidel Castro, Political Psychology, Non-Aligned Movement, Bandung, radicalism, socialism

1. Introduction

Using the concept of revolutionary totalitarian personality, this paper analyzes the influence

of the personality of Fidel Castro on the evolution of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It is

argued that post-1959 Cuba became one of the most active and radical 'second generation

Bandung regimes' mainly due to the personality traits of its leader. The components of his

revolutionary totalitarian personality included a revolutionary spirit, charisma, a narcissistic

desire for power and prestige, and an 'evangelistic' foreign policy style. They contributed

decisively to Castro's 1965-1968 effort to develop the Bandung Spirit into 'tricontinentalism,' a

strategy based on the idea that the standard of world revolution and Third World empowerment

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was being taken up by a new axis led by Cuba, North Vietnam, and North Korea that Latin

American and other Third World countries would soon join. When this approach failed, the same

personality traits made Castro shift his country's efforts to massive military and civilian

assistance to African revolutionary regimes fighting US- and South African-supported forces.

These actions led to considerable prestige among developing countries that turned the Cuban

leader into one of the most influential NAM leaders. Once more, he took this opportunity in order

to reshape the movement as the incarnation of a more radical and socialist view of the Third

World.

It should be noted that Fidel Castro hardly was the only Non-Aligned Movement leader with

a revolutionary totalitarian personality. Josip Broz Tito, Mao Zedong, Kim Il Sung, Ho Chi Min,

and Mengistu Haile Mariam belonged to the same category. Other non-aligned leaders, including

the organizers of the Bandung Conference, had obvious charismatic and voluntaristic personality

features. The following sections suggest that the study of non-alignment would benefit

significantly from the analysis of the consequences of these leaders' personality traits.

The paper is structured as follows: the next section presents non-alignment and the

theoretical aspects of the revolutionary totalitarian personality. The ensuing three sections

analyze the three successive stages of Castro's relationship with non-aligned states. Findings are

further discussed in the final section.

2. Bandung, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Personality of Its Leaders

Bandung and Non-Alignment

Between April 18 and 24, 1955, 29 countries participated in the conference of Afro-Asian

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If you are interested in reading the rest of the paper, please contact the author at

theodor.tudoroiu@sta.uwi.edu.