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This paper analyzes Quaker friendship projects between US and Cuban Quakers during the embargo period, with friendship construction being looked at as creative act within a contact zone. How are these intercultural friendships formed and sustained within religious communities of two countries in conflict? How do they relate to larger social dynamics such as intractable conflict and tourism? How do the friendships change the dynamics within these communities? In this paper two friendship projects are analyzed in terms of the strategies they employ to navigate the dynamics of conflict and social inequality between the two states. FRIENDSHIP PROJECTS WITHIN EMBARGO 3 Friendship Projects Within Embargo: Peacemaking and Power between US and Cuban Quakers 1987-2019 The Cuban Quaker church descended from US Quaker missions that existed from 19001959. These missions were understood by the US Friends as evangelistic, pacifist, and humanitarian efforts, and yet in many ways they also mirrored the larger social dynamic of US imperialism and paved the way for US business expansion projects. In 1959, Cuba experienced their socialist revolution and the US missions were ended, followed by a long period with little contact between US Quakers and the surviving Cuban Quaker churches. In the 1980’s, a new era of contact between the groups began. These relationships were informal relationships between individuals and churches, frequently described as friendships, and were sometimes formalized into sister-church-type relationships. Like their missionary predecessors, these friendships are seen as an alternative to the conflicted relationship between the two states. The present-day projects are modeled as intercultural friendships. American Quakers do not oversee projects in Cuba as in previous years. The structure of Cuban society no longer allows for such projects. As a result of this, and the fact that Cuban society has in the preceding years elevated the level of public education to be equal or higher than Americans and for the levels of poverty to be greatly decreased, the two communities now relate on a more equal footing. Nonetheless, these relationships are constructed and navigated according to the political and social conditions of this time, including embargo, government surveillance, travel restrictions, and the influence of tourism. If the missionaries at the turn of the 20th century were naïve enough to believe themselves immune from such social forces, present generations have no such luxury. We know from extensive social science research that the power of things like systemic racism, militarized states, and tourism impact our most intimate of relationships. My research FRIENDSHIP PROJECTS WITHIN EMBARGO 4 looks at Quaker friendship projects of today in terms of how they are understood and function in the Cuban Quaker church community. How are these intercultural friendships formed and sustained within communities from two countries in conflict? How do they relate to larger social dynamics such as intractable conflict and tourism? How do the friendships change the dynamics within these communities?