Sustained economic development in many of the world's most powerful countries has sparked the topic of democratization in developing countries. Cuba is a communist country that is under an autocratic government. While many countries harbor a potential trigger for social and economic reform, the country of Cuba is plagued by common conditions that breed persistent autocracy. Some of the factors that have maintained autocracy in Cuba include the use of a revenue-maximizing tax rate, the stationary bandit's capacity for violence, and forces dissolving a recently established democracy. Cuba, an island country in the Caribbean, has struggled to maintain democratic leadership since the Spanish-American War. After the war, the United States declared that its presence in the country was temporary and that sovereignty would pass to the Cubans through the creation of a Constituent Assembly. In his work “Dictatorship, Democracy and Development”, Mancur Olson (1993) explains that democracies usually prevail in the fight against fascist or communist countries. The United States, being a democratic stronghold that held control of the government in Cuba, initially encouraged the transition from autocratic to democratic government in the country. Unlike other newly established democracies of the time, such as the democratization of Germany at the end of World War II, the new democratic structure in Cuba quickly collapsed. The Cuban Constituent Assembly that was established was a catalyst for the dissolution of all competing parties. The strict voting rules for the election of the 31 delegates of the Constituent Assembly produced an overwhelming majority in favor of the republican form of government, creating a governor... middle of paper... who acts outside of personal motivations and creates political reforms for the improvement of the country. That said, autocratic governments are susceptible to succession crises (Olsen, 1993, p 572). Dynastic successions are often more predictable in autocracies than other forms of leadership change because there is less uncertainty about the future. Without dynastic succession and a clear understanding among the population of who the next leader will be, autocratic regimes could falter in short periods of time, decreasing the productivity of societies. With susceptibility to succession crisis, the possibilities for political reform increase. In Cuba, Fidel Castro recently handed over the presidency to his brother Raúl Castro due to his declining health. With the fall of the president, the possibility of social and political change in the country of Cuba opens up.