This document summarizes governance, development, and the responsive-repressive state in Vietnam. It discusses how the Communist Party dominates the government but that the system allows some citizen participation through official organizations. It describes how citizens have conveyed views to authorities through everyday issues, public contests, and lawful channels, and how the government has responded through both responsiveness and repression depending on the situation. The document also outlines debates among critics over whether struggles should engage with or confront authorities, and whether development or democratization should come first in Vietnam's system.

1. S
Governance, Development, and the
Responsive-Repressive State in
Vietnam
Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet
Presented by Hang Nguyen

2. Agenda
S Context
S Governance
S Development
S Democracy
S Responsiveness
S Repressiveness
S Debates among critics

3. Context
S Good governance: appropriate public policies,
authorities being accountable to the people and people
being able to influence policy-makers.
S Development: the improvement of citizens’ economic
and social welfare.
S Democracy: free and regular elections, a multiparty
political system, multiple branches of government
(legislative, executive and judicial), freedom of press and
speech, and robust civil society organisations.

4. Governance
S Communist Party:
S only authorised political party
S dominates national and local government offices, the
bureaucracy, the legal system and mass media
S Official ‘mass organisations’ for workers, peasants,
women and other sectors of society are closely tied to the
party and its government.

5. Development
S Citizens’ welfare has improved considerably.
S ‘Democratic institutions are not necessarily required for
improvement in people’s well-being, accountability of
authorities and citizens’ influence on policy-makers’.
S Relationship between governing authorities and citizens.

6. Responsiveness
S Vietnam’s political system:
S A top-down system dominated by a centralised CP-run state with
no room for societal influences and political activity, or
S An authoritarian system that is largely a CP-run state but allows
some citizen participation through its official ‘mass organisations’,
or
S A system with considerable dialogue and negotiation between
components of a somewhat decentralised state and various
interests in society, including those not in official organisations.

7. Responsiveness
S According to how citizens have conveyed their views and
concerns to authorities
S ‘Everyday politics’: Urban residents: housing
S ‘Public contests’: collective farming & redistribution of land
S May 1997: Protests in Thai Binh  used limited force to restore
order.
S Workers’ strikes (unlawful): low wages or abusive treatment 
government repression is rare
S ‘Lawful channels’: writing petition, letters of complaints,
meetings with officials, lobbying decision-makers… (VCCI)

8. Repressiveness
S Repression also conforms with the interpretation that Vietnam
has an authoritarian political system that allows citizen
participation but only through official, authorised organisations
S Most repression is against people who try to disrupt social
order, weaken national security, destabilise the political
system, undermine the government, or dislodge the
Communist Party from power.
S Methods: harassment, physical violence, arrest and/or
imprisonment.

9. Repressiveness
S February 2001: Central Highlands protest – conflicts over
land/Evangelical religious practices  sent in military troops
and district security police units
S ‘Democracy movement’: public advocates for democratic
institutions and the protection of free speech and other human
rights
S Dozen political parties and other organisations (no legal standing)
S Newspapers, publications
S Bloc 8406: Declaration of Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam
 harassment, intimidation, occasional arrests and
imprisonments

10. Debates among critics
S Responsive-repressive: non-violent, peaceful struggle
S Struggle through participation and engagement with authorities
and state institutions  causes significant mutation and
conversion toward democracy over time.
S Struggle that directly confront authorities and institutions  the
state as stubbornly opposed to significant change and highly
prone to repression
S The only way for governance in Vietnam to improve is to
replace the CP government with democracy

11. Debates among critics
S Struggles for better living conditions and other specific issues
influence the CP government and help the country to develop.
S Democratisation movement = restore the Saigon regime?
S Critics favouring confrontational struggle stress direct
opposition to the CP and its government  little or nothing
worth saving of the present political system  should be
‘completely replaced’; ‘incapable of being renovated or
modified’
S Development cannot happen until VN has democratic
institutions/multiple parties?

12. Thank you for your attention!