Havana, Moscow and international crises: implications for asymmetry

Asymmetric relationships are key to international relations with Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine placing asymmetry at the forefront of global politics. This article’s originality arises from its examination of the effects of an international crisis involving the larger partner of an asymmetric relationship and a third-party country for the asymmetric relationship in question. Specifically, Havana–Moscow relations. Havana’s response to the August 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, the December 1979 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2022 Ukrainian invasion are examined using a rigorous historical qualitative analysis of primary and secondary sources and a qualitative and quantitative analysis of bilateral trade. It is posited that during an international crisis: (1) the dynamics of the asymmetric relationship change triggering a new type of asymmetry: temporal crisis asymmetry; and (2) the bilateral relationship becomes more symmetric. Significant for other asymmetric relationships impacted by an international crisis involving the larger partner and a third-party country.