Book Review: Gainsborough, M. (2010). Vietnam: Rethinking the State

Abstract

Gainsborough, Martin (2010). Vietnam: Rethinking the State. London, UK: Zed Books. ISBN: 978-1-84813-310-5. 224 pages.Martin Gainsborough's latest book Vietnam: Rethinking the State is a long-awaited contribution to the discussion of the role of the state in Vietnam. Gainsborough is a reader in development politics at the University of Bristol, UK, and has spent more than 20 years working and living in Vietnam as an international consultant and scholar. His analysis is consequently strongly informed by his experiences. The book itself is based on field research conducted between 1996 and 2007.As can be inferred from the title, the book aims at grasping the nature of the Vietnamese state. Yet, Gainsborough's analysis differs from those of other scholars who analyse the state by directly focusing on the "entity we call state" (p. 3) as such. Accordingly, he claims that his analytical approach differs from Weberian approaches insofar as he does not focus on the state itself, but rather applies a wider analysis of societal power relations in order to shed light on 'the state'. Gainsborough aims to advance an understanding of the state "by studying issues to do with politics and more pertinently power" (p. 2-3). He argues that focusing on the role of various societal actors and paying attention to their historical practices allows for an embedded understanding of the state. By applying his approach to the case of Vietnam, Gainsborough aims to address two key questions: "What is the nature of the state? And what is the relationship of the state to the political?" (p. 4).Gainsborough argues that most scholars who currently work on Vietnam tend to overemphasise the aspect of 'change' since the launch of doi moi (renovation) in 1986. They thereby unquestioningly accept that the changes attributed to the 'reform years', such as economic openness, private sector development, and alignment with neoliberal policies, have undermined the power of the state. As a result of his empiridoi cal analyses over the years, Gainsborough challenges such notions and makes clear that "the book is not very sympathetic towards ideas of state retreat" (p. 2). Instead, he provides a rich analysis of different empirical cases in support of his argument that the Vietnamese state has been able to maintain its central role in organising society and the economy as a whole.Rather than focusing on the overused label of 'reform' which is often understood as a move towards liberalisation, export-oriented trade, and privatisation (or 'equitisation' as called in the case of Vietnam), and thereby evoking a loss of influence of the Vietnamese state, he questions the "unmediated advance of neoliberalism" (p. 2) on a global scale. Gainsborough's analysis evolves around the empirical observation that despite formal changes, large "areas of continuity, in form of existing power structures, elite control over the economy and particular forms of rule" remain. He argues that a major reason for this is that "power continuously seeks to re-create itself" (p. 4) and in order to understand the Vietnamese state, it is crucial to detect where power structures have been re-created in order to secure existing power relations.Each chapter presents an analysis of a distinct feature of contemporary Vietnamese politics. The major issues around which the analysis evolves are the unchallenged role of the Communist Party, the phenomena of corruption and patronage, the process of privatisation, the impact of globalisation on Vietnam as well as the minor influence of neoliberal ideas on the Vietnamese state. Taken together, each chapter fulfils the role of a puzzle piece necessary to see the whole picture.Gainsborough argues that the economic and social change of the past decades did not harm the rule of the Vietnamese Communist Party because it was able to secure its central role in organising the social order. He regards this as a central reason why the Communist Party continues to rule in Vietnam today. …