Disaster, Societal Responses, and State Legitimacy in Crisis in Vietnam

Abstract

This article examines the role of celebrity activism in post-disaster politics in the context of state authoritarianism in Vietnam. In late 2020, a chain of violent tropical storms hit Vietnam’s central highland region – host to hundreds of hydropower dams – triggering severe landslides and floods that devastated human lives and local livelihoods. Drawing on data gathered through social media, online platforms, and interviews with non-governmental organisations and private sector actors, this article shows how the rupture of these disaster events facilitated socio-political openings in state–society relations that might otherwise have remained closed. It explores these political contestations, attributions of blame, and the competing recovery efforts that emerged between government actors, celebrities, and citizens. Public debates over the natural and political catalysts of the disaster revealed major structural and governance problems for the state, which allowed voluntary charity work by a celebrity to supplement state functions during the disaster. Considered illegal under state law, the article shows how support from the public and lower tiers of government for private charity work challenged state legitimacy. Under pressure from within and from citizens, the central government had to amend its policies to accommodate voluntary disaster relief – to restore its flagging legitimacy.