Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Political Science Theses Department of Political Science Summer 5-21-2021 Re-examining the Cult of Personality: A Comparative Cross- national Case Study of Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh Thach Hong Pham Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_theses Recommended Citation Pham, Thach Hong, "Re-examining the Cult of Personality: A Comparative Cross-national Case Study of Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2021. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/political_science_theses/87 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Political Science at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Political Science Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Re-examining the Cult of Personality: A Comparative Cross-national Case Study of Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh by Thach Hong Pham Under the Direction of Larry Berman, PhD A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2021 ABSTRACT The thesis re-examines the utility of the charismatic leader’s cult of personality as a strategic power-enhancing tool by performing a cross-national comparative case study of three Asian personality cults – Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh. To what extent did these cult leaders possess the godlike powers that the cult of personality literature implies? The thesis finds support for the conclusion that increasing deification of a leader is not always positively correlated with a leader’s godlike powers, operationalized as a leader’s unilateral decision- making powers over national policies. Kim Il Sung’s cult was manipulated by family members for their benefit. Mao Zedong attempted to wield the power of the cult of Mao during the Cultural Revolution but could not control the Red Guards. The Communist Party of Vietnam utilized the cult of Ho Chi Minh to maintain the image of national unity while ignoring his policy directives. INDEX WORDS: Cult of personality, charisma, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, Kim Il Sung, Asian history Copyright by Thach Hong Pham 2021 Re-examining the Cult of Personality: A Comparative Cross-national Case Study of Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh by Thach Hong Pham Committee Chair: Larry Berman Committee: Andrew Wedeman Kim Reimann Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Services College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2021 iv DEDICATION I dedicate this thesis to my parents, Tho Thi Tran and Dung Van Vu, and my partner, Blake Alexander Dernus. Their love and support have and will continue to nourish my academic journey. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the critical support of a small community at Georgia State University. I owe much to Dr. Larry Berman, my graduate research advisor, committee chair, and dear mentor who gave me the confidence to pursue an academic career in the humanities and who has provided constructive feedback at every critical juncture of my academic career. It is Dr. Berman’s standards of approval that I sought and will continue to seek in future scholarship. This thesis initially began as a research paper for Dr. Andrew Wedeman’s course on authoritarian resilience and survival. Without Dr. Wedeman’s guidance, the initial ideas would not have been captured on paper. Dr. Kim Reimann’s guidance helped me to think deeply about the combination of factors involved in the cult of personality and the future potential of this thesis. I wish to acknowledge Drs. Carrie Manning and Ryan Carlin for their insightful comments and suggestions on an initial draft of the thesis at the 2021Atlanta Symposium on Political Science. Finally, I wish to acknowledge Dr. Charles Hankla and Ms. Shelia Tolbert of the political science department and Ms. Joyce Kane of graduate services for guiding me through the administrative hurdles of completing this thesis. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ V LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. VII 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Power, Charisma, and the Cult of Personality .......................................................... 2 2 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 12 3 KIM IL SUNG ................................................................................................................. 15 4 MAO ZEDONG .............................................................................................................. 24 5 HO CHI MINH ............................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Ho Chi Minh Abroad: The First Signs of Charismatic Virtues and the Beginnings of A Movement ........................................................................................................... 32 5.2 A Moderate in A Revolution ..................................................................................... 38 5.3 The Role of Text in Creating A Personality Cult .................................................... 41 5.4 The Posthumous Cult of Ho Chi Minh ..................................................................... 43 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 47 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 49 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CCP Chinese Community Party DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea DRV Democratic Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cộng Hòa) ICP Indochinese Communist Party PLA People’s Liberation Army PRC People’s Republic of China RVN Republic of Vietnam (Việt Nam Cộng Hòa) SRV Socialist Republic of Vietnam USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics VWP Vietnam Worker’s Party (Đảng Lao động Việt Nam) WPK Worker’s Party of Korea 1 1 INTRODUCTION Britney Spear’s court conservatorship has once again brought into public debate the autonomy of celebrities, often thought of in pop culture as larger than life figures adored by many. On the surface, Spears is a pop sensation with millions of fans worldwide. Behind the scenes, she struggled in court against her father for power over her estate and life decisions. Spear’s wrestle for power against her father is not the first and only example of celebrities or pop icons who are exploited by those around them, profiting off the commercialization of the icon. From the 20th - 21st century, technological advancements have provided an avenue for the elevation of politicians’ status to those of celebrities. The rise of television engendered a focus in politics on personality rather than policies. Dwight Eisenhower’s presidential campaign strategies sparked the rise of television advertisements and the incorporation of celebrities on the campaign trail. Eisenhower provided a model for subsequent presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan on how to capitalize on a candidate’s charismatic appeal. The advent of social media continues to blur the lines between politicians and celebrity icons. For example, “Uncle” Bernie with his viral mittens at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration is a beloved cultural icon to many young Progressives and Democrats. Former President Barack Obama’s Twitter boasts 130.1 million followers, the most of any Twitter account and beating out sensational pop icons such as Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber. Former President Donald Trump, a television star turned politician similar to former President Ronald Reagan and The Terminator star Arnold Schwarzenegger, also amassed a following of over 88 million on Twitter while developing a cult of personality around his “America First” rhetoric before he was permanently banned from the social media platform. In the past decade, the world has seen an increasing trend in populism and subsequently, the creation of modern personality cults around populist leaders 2 such as America’s Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro, and Turkey’s Recep Erdogan just to name a few. Researchers have also noted China’s trend towards a more personalized political system with Xi Jinping as the leader of a personality cult carefully manufactured by the Chinese Communist Party.1 As the line between celebrities and politicians blur and personality cults continue to manifest around populist leaders, it behooves the public to consider to what extent is the same power dynamics between celebrities and their controlling exploiters applicable to political figures, specifically those with large cult-like followings. The thesis examines the cases of three historic Asian leaders with prominent personality cults – Kim Il Sung, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh. To what extent did these cult leaders possess the godlike powers that the cult of personality literature implies? More specifically, did having a personality cult allow them to unilaterally