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  • Vietnam in 2015 Challenges Persist amidst Hope for Change
  • Le Hong Hiep (bio)

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[End Page 362]

The year 2015 marked the eighty-fifth anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the fortieth anniversary of Vietnam’s reunification under its rule. After almost thirty years of economic transformation, Vietnam has achieved considerable progress in terms of socio-economic development, but challenges to the country remain substantial as the economy has not regained full steam since the 2008–9 slowdown. Politically, the CPV has also been faced with a testing period. Its performance-based legitimacy has been undermined, while popular support declined due to widespread corruption as well as various socio-economic problems that cast doubts on the efficiency and accountability of the state and party systems. In terms of foreign policy, Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea presents a major challenge for the party. While seeking to maintain a peaceful relationship with its northern neighbour, Vietnam also needs to look into new options to deal with the rising China threat.

Developments in Vietnam in 2015 show that the CPV was struggling to overcome these challenges while probing for changes to strengthen its political legitimacy, to improve the country’s economic performance and to navigate through complex foreign policy issues. Preparations for the CPV’s Twelfth National Congress obviously topped the country’s domestic agenda in 2015, but other economic and foreign policy developments were also noteworthy as they may indicate how Vietnam in general and the CPV in particular will perform in 2016 and the years to come. [End Page 363]

Politics: Preparations for the CPV’s Twelfth National Congress

The CPV’s quinquennial national congresses are always important events for the country’s political system. Each congress not only elects the country’s top leadership, but also reviews its past performance and sets out a framework for future socio-economic, political and foreign policies. Although policy orientation is generally considered the most important task of the congresses, the election of the party’s top leadership attracts the most attention from the public, party members and Vietnam watchers around the world. The party’s Twelfth National Congress, planned for January 2016, has been no exception.

To prepare for the congress, in September 2015 the party released a draft political report for public comment.1 After reviewing the achievements and shortcomings for the past thirty years of doi moi, as well as since the last congress, the report outlines objectives and solutions for the next five years. A comparison of objectives stated in the report and those set five years ago at the Eleventh National Congress reveals a number of notable changes in the party’s thinking and policy orientation (see Table 1).


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Table 1.

CPV Policy Objectives Set by Eleventh and Twelfth Congress

Source: Author’s compilation. Changes are italicized.

First, building a “clean and strong” party has become the top priority for the CPV, which reflects its concern that widespread corruption will harm its legitimacy and thus its rule in the long run. It may also signal the party’s emphasis on combating corruption in the coming years, but whether or not such an objective [End Page 364] is achievable still hangs in the balance as this is not the first time the party has highlighted the threat from corruption.

Second, by referring to “socialist democracy”, party officials tend to acknowledge that there is a need to enhance democracy, both within the party as well as for the whole country. However, it should be noted that democracy by the party’s definition is of a “socialist” nature and managed under the party’s leadership, not the liberal democracy that may threaten its rule. To some observers this may represent the party’s mere lip service to democracy.

Third, by adding the word “synchronously”, the party wants to make sure that reforms will be undertaken not only across all fields, but also at the same time. This is to prevent certain areas from lagging behind in reform efforts, which may constrain the performance of the whole system. This change may also indicate...

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