ABSTRACT
In the first part of Chapter 4, Vietnam, the political history of the country is recounted beginning with resistance to French rule in the 1920s, the first and second Indochinese wars, and the 1954 separation of North and South Vietnam. This account includes discussion of Ho Chi Minh’s leadership, an analysis of the US-Vietnam War, and the resultant reunification of North and South in 1975. The latter part of the chapter begins with an examination of the country’s key political institutions and social groups, namely, the ideology of Ho Chi Minh, the Communist Party of Vietnam, the national assembly, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and the military. A section devoted to state-society relations follows which examines reunified Vietnam’s authoritarian, single-party political system. A brief examination of the country’s economy follows with attention to pro-market reforms (Doi Moi) that aligned Vietnam with globalization after 1986 and generated profound effects, including impressive gains in Vietnam’s overall development over the past three decades. The chapter closes with an overview of Vietnam’s foreign affairs including its relations with China, Russia, the United States, ASEAN, and the international community. This section also analyzes Vietnam’s claims on the Paracel and Sprately Island chains in the South China Sea dispute. A map of Vietnam is in included for geographical reference.
