Cuba's nuclear power program and post‐cold war pressures

Benjamin-Alvarado, Jonathan; Belkin, Alexander

doi:10.1080/10736709408436536

Cited by 2 publications

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“…Both the nuclear power plants in Juraguá and the research reactor in the La Quebrada research centre remained unbuilt. Facing a critical economic situation, in 1992 Fidel Castro announced the suspension of the nuclear program (Benjamin-Alvarado and Belkin, 1994, p. 18). All this resulted in a reduced need for nuclear specialists on the island.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the Castro government, the major aims included reducing dependency on Soviet crude oil imports and on the Soviet Union in general; trimming down, to a certain extent, the negative impacts of the US embargo (Benjamin-Alvarado, 1998, p. 15); boosting “techno-material development” of the island (Cederlöf, 2020, p. 14); increasing the legitimacy of the government by a “shining example of success” (Benjamin-Alvarado, 2000, p. 1) as well as enhancing Cuba’s international prestige. Cuba signed a bilateral treaty with the Soviet Union on nuclear matters in 1967 (on the construction of a research reactor) and nine years later (on the construction of energy-producing nuclear reactors) (Benjamin-Alvarado and Belkin, 1994, pp. 18–20).…”

Section: Significance Of Cubamentioning

confidence: 99%

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For a bright future. Cuban nuclear engineers studying in late socialist Hungary

Szente-Varga

2024

HER

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PurposeThis research aims to contribute to History of Education Studies as well as to New Cold War Studies, by examining a Reactor Technology Specialist Engineer program, launched in Hungary three times in the 1980s for Cuban nuclear engineers, graduates of the University of Havana.Design/methodology/approachThe institutional setting, the content of the program, the teaching staff, the students, and the outcomes are studied. The factors that motivated the birth of this special program are examined, including the following areas; in what ways it was different from the courses in which foreign students participated in Hungary; what its strengths and weaknesses were; how we can learn from this past experience and what relevance it has for the present.FindingsThe analysis – carried out within the context of Cuban–Hungarian relations in the Cold War – demonstrates that these two satellite countries used the fields of science and education to widen their international possibilities and at the same time to reinforce their national interests by cooperating with each other.Originality/valueThe investigation is based on archival sources, university yearbooks and journals as well as contemporary Hungarian press. Written sources were complemented by interviews with Cuban students and Hungarian teaching staff, thus providing a personal perspective, balancing official views.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Significance Of Cubamentioning

confidence: 99%