Leadership Transition in Vietnam since the Eighth Party Congress: The Unfinished Congress

Abstract

It has been argued that Western press and observers have paid too much attention to transitions among Vietnam's ruling troikageneral secretary, prime minister, and president-and missed important and sweeping changes in generation and leadership in central Party commissions and government ministries.1 The relative continuity of the top leadership indeed has allowed this far-reaching transition at all other levels to take place very smoothly. That said, transition at the highest level does remain important for several reasons. First, Vietnam's political system, despite pledges of unity and a fairly impressive history of consensus, is fraught with factionalism (bung-di) conducted in the name of doctrine.2 Second, there really are vast differences within the leadership over the pace and scope of the reform program and it is the top leadership that is able to set the tone and limits for debate. Third, the Vietnamese political system is based on patron-client ties, and junior officials will only support and implement policies that have the support of their patrons. Moreover, in a political system where the elite chooses its own successors, the behavior of leaders is guided by their perception of the interests, wishes, and demands of those who control their ten-