ABSTRACT
In view of the gravity of the situation, the Vietnamese government decided, in 1979, to test out a liberalization of the economy, starting with the introduction of a contractual system in the agricultural sector. Thailand's post-war foreign policy seems to have revolved with fair consistency around the theme of containing Vietnam. In the 1920s and 1930s, communism provided ideals and aspirations for many Asian revolutionaries. Furthermore, communism afforded them a self-contained political proposition. The continuation of the 'revolutionary' wars in Asia performed the double function of helping to sustain the image of communism as a revolutionary movement long after it had ceased to be one, and of upholding the prestige of the Soviet Union as one, at least, of the centres of revolution. In the case of Vietnam, communism was at least useful in giving a conceptual framework to its struggle for independence.
