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The Development of Civil Society and Dynamics of Governance in Vietnam's One Party System

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The Development of Civil Society and Dynamics of Governance in Vietnam's One Party System Civil Society and Governance in Vietnam’s One Party System Hai Thiem Bui BA (International Relations), MA (International Studies) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2015 School of Political Science and International Studies i Abstract Civil society has been in operation under one-Party rule in Vietnam for a number of years since Doi Moi policy was launched in 1986. Conventional scholarship holds that civil society, under an authoritarian state, is either heavily repressed or co-opted by the state. The emergence and development of a reasonably genuine civil society in the past two decades in an authoritarian state like Vietnam thus raises an intriguing puzzle. The objective of this thesis is to investigate the development of Vietnam’s civil society in the one- party system over the past two decades. At a certain level, civil society has only reluctantly been “tolerated” by the party-state but at the same time has played an important role in the nation’s governance network and national development. Given the party-state’s continuing suspicion over the potential threat of civil society to regime stability and subsequent discouragement of its existence, it has never been an easy project for civil society to make its way into Vietnamese society. The core argument of this thesis is that power is diffused in civil society and generates pressure for incremental socio-political changes. Civil society in Vietnam is not only viable, engaging and contemporary but also increasingly embraces a more overt, vocal, and contentious character. An unprecedented range of actors including state, non-state, quasi-state and hybrid ones engage in critical debates on democratic freedoms, transparency, accountability, and meaningful participation. I examine these critical issues across four key functional areas of governance: law-making related to civil society, poverty reduction, environment, and anti-corruption. Counter-hegemonic manoeuvres are present in these four themes, revealing complex aspects of struggles around ideas and values in state–civil society relations. These struggles serve as fundamental platforms for the changing dynamics of governance in Vietnam. i ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. ii iii Publications during candidature Peer-reviewed journal articles: Thiem Hai Bui. 2015. ‘In Search of a Post-socialist Mode of Governmentality: The Double Movement of Accommodating and Resisting Neo-liberalism in Vietnam.’ Asian Journal of Social Science 43 (1): 80-102. Thiem Hai Bui. 2014. ‘Pluralism Unleashed: The Politics of Reforming the Vietnamese Constitution.’ Journal of Vietnamese Studies 9 (4): 1-32. Thiem Hai Bui. 2014. ‘Deconstructing the ‘Socialist’ Rule of Law in Vietnam: The Changing Discourse on Human Rights in Vietnam’s Constitutional Reform Process.’ Contemporary Southeast Asia: A Journal of International and Strategic Affairs 36 (1): 77-100. Thiem H. Bui. 2013. ‘The Development of Civil Society and Dynamics of Governance in Vietnam’s One-Party Rule.’ Global Change, Peace and Security 25 (1): 77-93 Thiem H. Bui. 2013. ‘Liberal Constitutionalism and the Socialist State in an Era of Globalisation: An Inquiry into Vietnam’s Constitutional Discourse and Power Structures.’ The Global Studies Journal 5 (2): 43-54. Thiem Hai Bui. 2012. Vietnam: rapports entre société civile et parti-État dans le post-Doi moi [Vietnam: Relations between Civil Society and the Party-State in post-Doi moi]. Alternatives Sud: État des résistances dans le Sud – Asie [Southern Alternatives: The State of Resistance in the South - Asia], 19 (4): 73-79. Conference papers: ‘Foreign Aid Via Civil Society Support Program in Vietnam: Regulation and Re-configuration under the Party-State.’ Paper presented at the 2015 Australasian Aid Conference, Australian National University, Canberra, 12-13 February, 2015. ‘Contestations in Vietnam’s socialist law-based state and constitutionalism: Rule of Law, Party Law and Party Governance.’ Paper presented at the 2014 New Zealand Political Studies Association (NZPSA) Conference, University of Auckland, 1-3 December 2014. iii iv ‘Integrity System, Civil Society and Anti-Corruption Politics in Vietnam.’ Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Human Rights and Peace & Conflict in Southeast Asia (SEARHN Conference) hosted by University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 15-16 October 2014. ‘Elections in a communist party regime: Reform of Electoral Integrity System and Challenges in Vietnam.’ Paper presented at the 2014 Australian Political Studies Association (APSA) Conference, University of Sydney, 28 September - 1 October 2014. ‘Elections under Vietnamese One-Party Conditions.’ Paper presented at the International Symposium on ‘The New Despotism’ at the Festival of Democracy, the University of Sydney, 27 September 2014. ‘Identity Transformation: Discursive Power and Constitutional Politics in Vietnam.’ Paper presented at the Vietnam Update Conference 2013, the Australian National University, Canberra, 31 October - 1 November, 2013. ‘Postsocialist Mode of Governmentality and the Emergence of Amorphous Postneoliberalism in Vietnam.’ Paper presented at the Inter-Asian Connections IV Conference, co-organized by the Social Science Research Council, Yale University, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS), University of Hong Kong, Göttingen University and Koç University, Istanbul, 2-5 October 2013. ‘Revisiting the Independence of the Constitutional Council in Protecting Human Rights.’ Paper presented at the Conference on ‘Transplanting UN Conventions on Human Rights into the Constitution and Domestic Laws: Experiences from Norway and Vietnam’, Institute of State and Law, Vietnam Academy of Social Science, Ha Noi, 9-10 September 2013. ‘Human Rights Discourse during Vietnam’s Constitutional Reform Process.’ Paper presented at the 7th EuroSEAS Conference (European Association of Southeast Asian Studies), Lisbon, 2-5 July 2013. ‘Civil Society and Constitutional Politics in Vietnam today.’ Paper presented at the Conference ‘Human Rights in the Constitutions in Norway and Vietnam’, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, 29-30 May 2013. ‘Civil Society Development and Governance in Vietnam’s One-Party System.’ Paper presented at the Fifth Biennial Oceanic Conference on International Studies (OCIS), the University of Sydney, 18-20 July 2012. iv v ‘Liberal Constitutionalism, Globalization, and the Socialist State: The Case of Vietnam.’ Paper presented at the the Fifth International Conference on Global Studies, Lomonosov State University, Moscow, 20-22 June 2012. ‘Civil Society and Environmental Policy: A New Source of Governance?’. Paper presented at Vietnam Update Conference, the Australian National University, Canberra, 17-18 November 2011. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. v vi Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the assistance, encouragement and support from a number of institutions and individuals to all of whom I owe my deepest debt of gratitude and appreciation. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Melissa Curley (UQ) for her outstanding supervision over the last four years. I am deeply grateful to her intellectual guidance, patience, support and mentoring over the course of my thesis writing and research career preparation. I want to thank Prof. Roland Bleiker (UQ) for his excellent associate supervision, which has been essential to this project. His great advice and constant mentoring have been of critical importance to the completion of my thesis and beyond. I am also grateful to Prof. Benedict Kerkvliet (ANU), Dr. Philip Taylor (ANU) and Prof. Tuong Vu (University of Oregon) for their constant encouragement and support. Their constructive comments
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