http://www.antiwar.com/henderson/?articleid=12395 The following article describes the embargo the United States has imposed on Cuba.  Cuba, holding its position as a communist nation, has been suffering long economic and social grief for the past 48 years.  With the embargo in place, America has forced the Cuban people into a worse economic dilemma.  Although America has created this embargo as a response to the Castro administration, the embargo has done nothing but weakened the country and its people, without eliminating Castro.  Many questions have been brought up, such as why would the embargo go against a communist country, while America freely trades with China or why has the embargo worsened the situation, instead of making it better?  If America is really the land of the free, why have people been restricted from visiting or entering Cuba, without special permission?  Given the right to visit Cuba, by Americans, would increase the economic status of the country and give Cubans more freedom, seeing that the American dollar would have a strong affect there. 

Relating to the subject of Networks, America represents this great structural hole, and through the embargo placed, has robbed Cuba of any potential of trade.  This can be visualized on a graph in which there would normally be buyers, traders and sellers, but the traders have been forced out of work, eliminating any possible transfer of goods or products.  This can also be seen as a 3 node graph where America is in the middle and can trade with any other country except Cuba, unless America’s demands are met.  With this observation in mind, Cuba has two options, meet America’s demands and have a lower payoff or establish good trade relations with other countries, which would be too difficult for a country that has been weakened by harsh rule and bad economy.  Is there really a right decision?  As discussed in class, players have expected payoffs, based on the idea that every player is acting rationally, trying to maximize his/her payoff, but is the idea of rationality present in politics?  What rationality is seen when a superpower such as America has placed an embargo on Cuba?  What is there to gain?  The embargo has lead to nothing but suffering for the people, and has done nothing to the government of Cuba.  Relieving this embargo would allow trade between the two countries, and when is trade ever a bad thing?  So the answer is no, in this situation there is no rationality.