NGOs and Cuba: opportunity or opportunism?

Reporting on a large gathering of international and Cuban NGOs and other agencies, this article explores the issues faced by Cuban society in undergoing rapid economic change; and examines why the New World Order has not led to any significant involvement with Cuba, either by the inter-governmental agencies, or by independent NGOs. It describes the roles of State-sponsored bodies in maintaining the major development gains of the last 30 years; and argues that NGOs that see their role as promoting `democratisation' must avoid falling into simplistic and inappropriate assumptions about the distinction between the State and `civil society'.