For longtime observers of Cuba-U.S. relations, D-17 has become universally recognized as shorthand for the date in 2014 that Presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro appeared on television simultaneously to announce their intention to restore diplomatic ties and endeavor to normalize relations between their countries.

The essays presented in the Implications of Normalization forum, sponsored by the Center for Latin American & Latino Studies at American University and the Cuba Program at the Social Science Research Council, delve more deeply into the ramifications of changes in U.S.-Cuba relations. The analyses encompass a variety of themes, ranging from U.S.-Cuba relations to hemispheric dynamics to the consequences for ongoing political, societal, and economic change in Cuba. We encourage readers to download and distribute them widely.

For an in-depth introduction to this web forum, please see this short essay from CLALS Director Eric Hershberg.

In May 2016, a revised version of the collection was published by Palgrave MacMillan as A New Chapter in US-Cuba Relations: Social, Political, and Economic Implications.