An Approach for Analysing State-Society Relations in Vietnam

TLDR: In this paper, the authors examine four arenas in Vietnam's political life in which statesociety relations are problematic: governing institutions and processes, mass media, agricultural collectives, and corruption.

Abstract: This article examines four arenas in Vietnam's political life in which statesociety relations are problematic: governing institutions and processes, mass media, agricultural collectives, and corruption. Each has evidence to support two common interpretations, which argue that the state and its various organizations in society run the political show in Vietnam. Yet, there is also evidence for a third interpretation, which highlights political activities in society beyond the reach of the state and its organizations. The article also finds ongoing deliberations in each arena about what relations between the state and society should be. Vietnam's leaders say the government is "of the people, for the people, and by the people". Yet the country's political system has only one political party, the Communist Party. Elections typically have only candidates approved by that party. Tight restrictions make very difficult the formation of any organization or the establishment of any publication that criticizes the Communist Party's domination of the political system. In such a system, what is the relationship between the rulers and the ruled, the authorities and "the people"? Secondly, what is being said and debated in the country about what those relationships should be? This article offers an approach to analysing such questions. It uses three interpretations in the scholarly literature to examine specific political arenas. It finds that each interpretation contributes to an understanding of the political system but is incomplete. This approach also reveals contending notions in Vietnam about appropriate relations between state and society.