Organizer: Daniel Goodkind, University of Michigan
Chair: Carlyle A. Thayer, University of New South Wales
Discussants: Dorothy R. Avery, U.S. Department of State; William S. Turley,
Southern Illinois University
The Regularization of Politics Revisited: Continuity and Change in the Party's
Central Committee, 1976-1996
Carlyle A. Thayer, University of New South Wales
This paper revisits the issue of "the regularization of politics" in Vietnam by analyzing leadership change on the party's Central Committee from the Unification Congress of 1976 (Fourth Congress) until the Eighth National Congress held in 1996 by employing the same methodology adopted by the author in an earlier study. Members of the Central Committee are classified by longevity of appointment, dated from their first selection to national office. Retention and promotion rates are examined. Members are also classified into sectoral categories-senior party, central party-state, military and provincial. Changes in these categories over time are also analyzed.
The paper notes that the regular convening of national party congresses every five years in accord with party statutes sets Vietnam's political calendar. There is intense lobbying for leadership positions by individuals and sectors representing Vietnamese society. The paper notes that the process of generational change has been accelerated and that there have been marked changes in the sectoral composition of the Central Committee as well. During 1976-86 as economic reforms were set in motion, local provincial-level officials rose to prominence. As Vietnam began to consolidate and slow the pace of change, a tendency towards recentralization became evident. The paper concludes that "the regularization of politics" has become institutionalized at the expense of stable collegial decision-making.
Business Associations and Politics in Vietnam
Jonathan R. Stromseth, Columbia University
Doi Moi has resulted in significant changes in the organizational life of Vietnam. A wide spectrum of "socio-economic" groups exist and the number is growing. At the top of the spectrum are the old mass organizations, such as the General Confederation of Labor and the National Peasants' Association, which have been the subject of an officially-sponsored renovation campaign since the late 1980s. At the bottom of the spectrum are a growing number of small-scale non-governmental groups, such as shrimp-grower and beekeeper associations in the countryside and charity and research groups in the cities. Somewhere between these two extremes, various kinds of business associations are making their presence known. One prominent example is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam. A more localized example is the Union of Associated Industrialists of Ho Chih Minh City. This paper will profile these business associations and examine the extent to which they are participating in policymaking processes of the government and representing emerging business interests.
Broken Mirrors, Shattered Lives: Analyzing the Narratives of the Returning Viet
Kieu (Overseas Vietnamese) to Vietnam
Gisele Bousquet, California State University, Fresno
This paper examines how the returning Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) are negotiating their role and identity in contemporary Vietnamese society. There are about two million Vietnamese living in the diaspora. Most tourists visiting Vietnam every year are Viet Kieu returning from exile to find meaning to their turmoil and fragmented lives. They survived the wars, separations, and the alienation of the diaspora. They are returning to reconcile with the ones who stayed behind and to share their pains of decades of violence and suffering. At Ton Son Nhat airport in Ho Chi Minh city, they arrive with tears in their eyes desperately searching for familiar faces in the thick crowd of relatives. Regardless of their political loyalties, they hug and cry, and laugh at each others' gray hair.
For almost twenty years, Vietnam was a war zone in the collective memory and then simply a forgotten country. Today, it is the latest business frontier, with its 72 million consumers and a cheap, educated labor force. Under Doi Moi, the new economic reforms, the Viet Kieu have become key players in Vietnam's open-door economic policies, forging partnerships with never-migrated Vietnamese to meet the state's desire for joint ventures. Thus, it is crucial to consider that the cultural politics of return take place within an economic context. This paper discusses the role of the Viet Kieu in their homeland during their return for reconciliation and healing while Vietnam joins the global market economy.