Future of Development in Vietnam and the challenges of Globalization

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Pages:260
ISBN:0-7734-5870-0
978-0-7734-5870-3
Price:$199.95 + shipping
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Vietnam has set 2005 as the target date for accession to the World Trade Organization. This momentous occasion would mark another milestone in Vietnam’s decades-long re-entry into the global community. Since the mid-1980s, the Vietnamese Communist Party has sought a difficult balancing act that bifurcates liberalism into two forms; one acceptable (economic) and one unacceptable (political). While Vietnam’s decision-makers have decided that entry into the global system of economic liberalism will complement the country’s economic development goals, the Vietnamese Communist Party has yet to eagerly embrace political liberalism. This volume addresses the domestic and international context of Vietnam’s global integration challenges with particular focus on the ruling party debate over liberalization; necessary economic and legal adjustments for WTO accession and the subsequent new challenges to the party’s legitimacy; emergence of civil society as a potentially empowered political actor; and the relationship between Vietnam and the United States. This volume finds that Vietnam’s accession may create as many new problems for Vietnam’s leadership, while aggravating extant tensions between urban and rural populations. It is clear that WTO accession is intended to bolster the economic legitimacy of the Communist Party, yet offers little respite from growing political and social challenges for the party in the 21st century.

Reviews

“Over the last ten years, a new chapter has opened between the United States and Vietnam ... In 1986 Vietnam embarked on a process of economic renovation, moving the country from a socialist-oriented centrally planned economy towards a socialist-oriented market economy. The economic reforms included market liberalization and decentralization policies that have had a transforming effect on Vietnam ... many of the essays in this important volume address the speed of these transforming events within one of the world’s few remaining socialist governments ... This volume helps us to understand the factors that will be most critical for cooperation, what issues are likely to present obstacles and what factors affect the relationship of globalization and interdependency ... The essays in this remarkably insightful book provide the context for seeing [the] future as a bright one.” – (from the Preface) Professor Larry Berman, University of California - Davis

“This volume has much to offer those interested specifically in Vietnam as a case study, but also to broader audiences engaged in research on democratization, the impact of globalization on development strategies, emergence of civil society, and the dilemma of today’s totalitarian hangers-on ... This work presents one of the greatest concentrations of highly regarded Vietnam scholars and practitioners in a single work to date ... Scholarly works on contemporary Vietnam are not available in abundance, and this volume fills that need ... The interplay of scholar and practitioner, as well as multiple generations of Vietnamese diaspora provide for a full-range discussion and insight into Vietnam’s political, economic, social, and international dilemma.” – Gustavo Wensjoe, Director and Sarofim Chair, Center for International Studies, University of St. Thomas

“During his historic visit to the former U.S. enemy in November 2000, President Clinton asserted that Vietnam was on a ‘virtually irreversible’ course toward prosperity and freedom. That is, Vietnam’s new chapter, its economy increasingly becoming more integrated with the rest of the world, will likely bring about improvements in economic life and greater freedom ... This work brings together an outstanding cast of practitioners, scholars and community activists to analyze and interpret the consequences of Vietnam’s global integration … This is a must-read for anyone interested in Vietnam’s path to, and the outcomes from, marketization or liberalization.” – Professor Long Le, Asian American Studies Center, University of Houston

Table of Contents

Preface by Larry Berman
Acknowledgements
Introduction - Hans Stockton
1. Development and Democratization: The Practical Challenges - Nguy?n Xuân Phong
2. Development and Democratization: Economic and Political Issues - Bùi Di?m and Nguy?n Quô’c Curòng
3. Development without Democratization - Nguy?n Quôc Curòng
4. Vietnam’s Prospects for Democracy - Leâ Xuaân Khoa
5. Civil Society and Democratization - Nông Duy Truòng
6. Four Generations of Vietnamese: Support for Democracy and Market Economy - Ông T. Nhu-Ng?c
7. The Challenges of Regional and Global Integration - Kh?i Q. Nguy?n
8. Vietnam’s WTO Accession - Kh?i Q. Nguy?n
9. The Communist Party and Challenges of Global Integration - Bùi Tín
10. Future Bilateral Relations Between the United States and Vietnam - Frederick Brown
List of Illustrations

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