Vietnam: The Socialist Party State

Abstract

Vietnam is a communist one-party regime in transition. With the implementation of doi moi, the Communist Party of Vietnam replaced a centrally planned economy with a “socialist-oriented market economy.” The transition from a fully planned economy to a mixed economy generated dynamic economic growth and socioeconomic modernization that puts the Communist Party in a potentially vulnerable position. The Party has reacted resolutely against any demands for political liberalization or a more open political process. Overall, it appears that the communist rulers have successfully adapted the pillars of regime stability to changing international and domestic contexts. The strategy of economic transformation and institutional innovation has enabled the CPV to keep its regime coalition together and to reconcile increasingly diverse sectoral and regional interests. Today, the CPV is no longer a revolutionary party striving for a utopian socialist ideal, but a bureaucratic party seeking to preserve the political status quo. Three decades of reform have generated conflict between the government and society in general, within the Party, and within different social groups in various forms, indicated by a steadily growing number of protests since the late 1990s. But even with these challenges, communist party rule in Vietnam appears resilient and adaptive. This chapter provides a systematic overview of the political actors, institutions, and dynamics of Vietnam’s political system and summarizes its history and recent developments.