What Vietnam Can Offer America

Journal of Southeast Asian Studies

side of the story is this book's greatest asset, the story of the Americans is no less engaging and revealing. Miller must be commended for locating and presenting fresh US documentary evidence that effectively relates the confusing and divisive nature of the war for Washington policy-makers, those who fought in it, and the American public. As he does for the Vietnamese, Miller offers a balanced mix of sources relating the thinking and sentiments of the key political actors, on the one hand, and the experiences of those impacted by their decisions, namely, armed forces personnel, on the other. There are a few lacunae in this book. Miller could have provided better insights into high-level communist and South Vietnamese decision-making during the war. Also, it would have been a good idea to include either an annotated bibliography or, at a minimum, a comprehensive list of suggested readings as they usually are of great use to students. Most disappointing is the absence of maps, an inexcusable oversight by the publisher for a book of this kind. Ultimately, Miller's book achieves what it sets out to do: offer a sound and effective overview of the multiple perspectives and complexities of the Vietnam War. It should be assigned reading in all college-level courses on that conflict, and on the shelves of every public and university library. This is a remarkable contribution to the constantly expanding body of works on the most consequential and controversial armed conflict of the post-1945 era in world history.

2014

2.1. Vietnamese studies in the post-Cold War era: General reviews 2.1.1. About the studies' theme and focus 2.1.2. About theoretical approach and research methodology 2.2. Vietnam's foreign policy in the post-Cold War era-Coping with change: Reviews of significant works Chapter 3: Foreign policy formulating and restructuring: Vietnamese mechanism and principle 3.1. Vietnam's policy making mechanism: The asymmetric triangle 3.1.1. The asymmetric power triangle: The Vietnam Communist Party, National Assembly and Government-Primary policy making mechanism in Vietnam 3.1.2. Vietnam Communist Party and Vietnam's foreign policymaking process 3.1.3. Power transition, not generation transition in Vietnamese politics: An analysis of 1986-1991 period 3.2. Fundamental principles and guideline for foreign policy making process 3.2.1. Fundamental principles 3.2.2. Diplomatic guideline and foreign policy Chapter 4: Vietnamese foreign policy of Renovation: International politics and internal politics 4.1. The end of the Cold War and its impacts on Vietnam's foreign policy 4.2. Vietnam's foreign policy of Renovation: Changes and adjustments for survival and development 4.2.1. Historical background: Vietnam foreign policy before Doi Moi (1975-1985) 4.2.2. Vietnamese foreign policy of Renovation: An overview 4.2.3. Looking forward to the future: Vietnam's foreign policy directions 4.3. Initial thoughts about foreign policy changing process in Vietnam Chapter conclusion Chapter 5: Ideology-Reality dilemma: Vietnamese foreign policy in the first stage of Renovation (1986-1991) 5.1. Internal politics and the formulation and implementation of the new foreign policy in the first stage of Renovation 5.1.1. Challenge perception and foreign policy directions in the Politburo Resolution No. 13 5.1.2. The process of formulating new foreign policy directions 5.2. VCP's efforts to settle the Cambodian conflict: Approaching to the new foreign policy direction 5.2.1. External pressures and internal requirements 5.2.2. The "Red Solution": The resurrection of ideological foundation 5.2.3. A comprehensive diplomatic settlement for Cambodian conflict: Initial steps toward the policy of diversification and multi-lateralization 5.3. Vietnam's approach toward normalization with China 5.3.1. Ideology versus realpolitik diplomacy 5.3.2. Obstacles in the negotiation: Normalization or compromise Chapter conclusion Chapter 6: National interest aspect of diplomatic alignment: Realpolitik foundation of Vietnamese foreign policy in the second stage of Renovation (1991-2001) 6.1. The Seventh Party Congress and the restructuring of Vietnamese foreign policy 6.1.1. Inner-party debates on the eve of the Seventh Party Congress 6.1.2. Vietnamese-Sino normalization and impacts on foreign policy directions of the Seventh Party Congress 6.1.3. New foreign policy approaches at the Seventh Party Congress 6.2. National interest and realpolitik calculation: The struggle for foreign policy of strategic independence 6.2.1. National interest and its role in foreign policy decisionmaking process: General perceptions 6.2.2. National interest in the new foreign policy of Renovation: Vietnam's approach 6.2.3. The relation between national interest and foreign affairs in VCP's documents and policies Chapter conclusion Chapter 7: Vietnam's Omni-directional diplomacy: Foreign policy of strategic independence (2001-2011) 7.1. Locating Vietnam in a changing world: Continuing to renovate diplomatic thinkings and maneuvers 7.2. International integration diplomacy: The relative relationship with independence and self-determination policy 7.2.1. Vietnam's international integration process: An overview 7.2.2. Vietnam's international integration in politics and securitydefense fields 7.2.3. Independence, self-determination and international integration: VCP's viewpoints and approaches 7.3. Partner and partnership framework in Vietnam's Renovation foreign policy: The Vietnamese adaptation to foreign policy of strategic independence 7.3.1. Partner and partnership framework in foreign relations: Fundamental issues 7.3.2. Partner, partnership, and partnership framework and the concretization in Vietnam's Renovation foreign policy Chapter conclusion Conclusions

Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 2018

Southeast Asian Affairs 2023, 2023

If the post-Cold War era is defined as a period when great power cooperation generally prevails over great power competition, its final demise arrived in 2022 with the intensification of US-China full-spectrum strategic competition, Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine and heightened hostilities between Moscow and the West. This chapter chronicles the key developments of Vietnam’s economy, domestic politics and foreign relations during the year, thus shedding light on how Vietnam has navigated the end of the post-Cold War era. It argues that the Vietnamese leadership needs to shed certain assumptions of a bygone era, including those about the linear trajectory of globalization, world peace, development, and great power cooperation. The post-post–Cold War era—characterized by heightened geopolitical tensions—brings about a different set of benefits and challenges to Vietnam, which requires its leadership to update their worldview when charting the country’s course forward.

The Montreal Review, 2010